Geneva — The United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan stated in a new report issued Thursday that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia carried out a coordinated campaign of destruction against non-Arab communities in the city of El-Fashir and its surrounding areas, and that the distinguishing features of this campaign indicate the commission of genocide.
While the Mission documented war crimes and crimes against humanity, it further established evidence of at least three of the underlying acts constituting the crime of genocide.
These acts include the killing of members of a protected ethnic group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction in whole or in part -- all of which constitute core elements of genocide under international law.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
The report, submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council under the title "Indicators of Genocide in El-Fashir," concludes that genocidal intent is the only reasonable inference that can be drawn from the RSF's systematic pattern of ethnically targeted killings, sexual violence, destruction, and public statements explicitly calling for the elimination of non-Arab communities, particularly the Zaghawa and Foor tribes.
Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission, Mohamed Chande Othman, stated:
"The scale of the operation, its coordination, and the public endorsement it received from senior RSF leaders demonstrate that the crimes committed in El-Fashir and its environs were not random excesses carried out in the fog of war, but formed part of a planned and organized operation bearing the hallmarks of genocide."
The campaign to seize El-Fashir and its surrounding areas was meticulously planned and executed, preceded by an 18-month siege that systematically weakened the targeted population through starvation, deprivation, psychological trauma, and detention -- conditions deliberately imposed to bring about their destruction.
Residents were physically exhausted, malnourished, and unable to flee, leaving them defenceless in the face of overwhelming violence. Thousands, particularly from the Zaghawa tribe, were killed, raped, or disappeared during three days of absolute terror. RSF leaders praised the takeover as a "major and historic military victory," commending their fighters for having "liberated" the city from the army.
The report documents a pattern of conduct directed specifically against protected ethnic groups, including mass killings, rape and sexual violence, torture and cruel treatment, arbitrary detention, extortion, and widespread enforced disappearance during the city's takeover in late October.
These acts were not incidental to hostilities but were perpetrated in a manner and context that demonstrate intent to destroy the targeted groups.
Identity-based targeting -- linked to ethnicity, gender, and perceived political affiliation -- was central to the RSF operation.
RSF fighters reportedly declared openly their intent to eliminate non-Arab communities. Survivors quoted them as saying: "Are there any Zaghawa among you? If we find Zaghawa, we will kill them all," and "We want to eliminate everything black in Darfur."
Such explicit statements, coupled with the systematic nature of the attacks, provide both direct and circumstantial evidence of genocidal intent.
Discriminatory slurs and ethnically charged insults were used during widespread, systematic, and coordinated acts of rape, including numerous cases of gang rape and other forms of sexual violence. The selective targeting of women and girls from the Zaghawa and Foor tribes, while often sparing women believed to be Arab, underscores the discriminatory and destructive purpose of the violence. One survivor recalled an RSF member saying: "They are slaves. Kill them, destroy them, rape them."
Mission member and expert Muna Rishmawi stated: "The totality of the evidence we have gathered -- including the prolonged siege, starvation, denial of humanitarian assistance, followed by mass killings, rape, torture, enforced disappearance, systematic humiliation, and the perpetrators' own statements -- leads to only one reasonable conclusion: that the RSF acted with intent to destroy the Zaghawa and Foor communities in El-Fashir, in whole or in part. These are the defining features of genocide."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The crimes in El-Fashir occurred amid repeated warnings and clear, specific indicators of atrocity risks. The escalation from ethnically motivated attacks to acts meeting the material elements of genocide reflects a failure of prevention despite unmistakable early warning signs. No effective measures were taken to deter the RSF from continuing its destructive course.
Mission member Joy Ngozi Ezeilo stated: "As the war expands into the Kordofan region, urgent protection of civilians is now more critical than ever. What happened in El-Fashir is not merely an escalation of previous violations and related crimes, but a stark manifestation of patterns consistent with genocidal violence."
The Fact-Finding Mission assesses that the risk of further genocidal acts remains grave and ongoing in the absence of effective deterrence and accountability measures.
Othman stressed that perpetrators at all command levels must be held accountable. "Where evidence points to genocide," he stated, "the responsibility of the international community to prevent it, protect those at risk, and ensure justice is heightened."
