A wave of deadly drone strikes across Sudan’s Kordofan region, killing dozens of civilians including at least 15 children in a displacement camp, underscores the relentless brutality of a war now entering its fourth year. These latest attacks, which mirror the disturbing patterns seen in Darfur according to UNICEF, come as a landmark United Nations investigation delivers a damning verdict on the conduct of one of the conflict’s main belligerents.
A UN Mission’s Grave Determination
A UN-mandated fact-finding mission has concluded that the siege and capture of the city of El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in October 2023 bore “the hallmarks of genocide.” In a comprehensive report, investigators detailed an 18-month occupation of North Darfur’s capital where the RSF and allied militias deliberately inflicted conditions calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the Zaghawa and Fur ethnic communities.
The mission’s chair, Mohamed Chande Othman, stated that the evidence pointed to a coordinated campaign. “The scale, coordination, and public endorsement of the operation by senior RSF leadership demonstrate that the crimes committed in and around El Fasher were not random excesses of war,” he said. “They formed part of a planned and organised operation that bears the defining characteristics of genocide.” The report establishes that at least three underlying acts of genocide were committed: killing members of a protected group, causing serious bodily and mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction.
“Three Days of Absolute Horror” in El Fasher
The mission, which interviewed 320 witnesses and victims and authenticated 25 videos, documented systematic atrocities following the city’s seizure. The UN Human Rights Office documented over 6,000 killings in the first three days of the offensive, a period the report describes as “three days of absolute horror.” In one incident, RSF fighters opened fire from heavy weapons on a crowd of around 1,000 people sheltering in a dormitory at El Fasher University, killing approximately 500. Verified footage shows executions inside the university’s Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science building.
The report details widespread sexual violence against girls and women aged seven to 70, including those who were pregnant. Survivors reported being attacked in front of family members, with assaults often involving severe physical abuse. In one harrowing incident, a 12-year-old girl was raped by three RSF fighters as her mother watched, moments after her father was killed trying to shield her; the girl later died from her injuries. Such assaults frequently occurred at the same locations as mass killings, including El Saudi hospital and El Fasher University. Witnesses described public gang rapes of at least 19 women in rooms strewn with corpses, among them the bodies of the victims’ husbands.
Beyond the killings and sexual violence, the RSF systematically weakened the targeted population through an 18-month siege involving starvation and the deprivation of food, water, and medical care. The report also documents 10 detention facilities used by the RSF in El Fasher, where severely inadequate conditions led to outbreaks of disease and deaths in custody.
Roots in the Janjaweed and External Support
The RSF’s brutal tactics have deep roots. The group grew out of the Janjaweed militias, notorious for atrocities committed in Darfur in the early 2000s in a ruthless campaign that killed 300,000 people and drove 2.7 million from their homes. The Janjaweed, supported by the Sudanese government at the time, carried out mass atrocities against the Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit communities.
In the current conflict, which erupted in April 2023 after a falling out between RSF commander Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo and army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the RSF has been backed by the United Arab Emirates, according to evidence compiled by the UN and independent experts. The research briefing states the UAE has been accused of providing financial, political, and military support—including arms, ammunition, missiles, and drones through complex supply chains—which has facilitated the RSF’s control over gold mines and commercial gains. The Gulf state denies the allegations.
International Condemnation and Sanctions
The UN report’s release coincides with mounting international condemnation. A day prior, the UK, Canada and the European Union denounced possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan. In a direct response to the El Fasher operation, the United States announced sanctions on three RSF commanders over their roles in the siege and capture of the city. The US Treasury stated the RSF had carried out “ethnic killings, torture, starvation, and sexual violence” during the offensive.
The war has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, forcing 11 million people to flee their homes and killing tens of thousands. The UN mission warns that without decisive action on prevention and accountability, the risk of further genocidal acts remains serious and ongoing, especially as the conflict’s focus shifts from Darfur to regions like Kordofan. Investigators stated that outside countries must act decisively to hold perpetrators to account “and bring an end to this senseless violence.”
