Sudan: RSF commits war crimes in El-Fasher
Accountability & Rule of Law - Child Victims of CRSV - Sudan - Advocacy
31st October 2025
Geneva (LAW) – Over the past few days, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been responsible for atrocious violations of international law in Sudan. Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) is deeply alarmed by the corroborated evidence of largescale ethnically motivated killings, detentions and brutal acts of sexual violence against civilians in El Fasher, North Darfur, following the RSF’s capture of the city.
“When the city fell, everything became death, the houses, the streets, even the hospitals”, an eyewitness told us. “We ran from the shelling with our children, thinking we could find safety on the road to Tawilah, but death was waiting there, too. I saw them line up men from Zaghawa tribe and shoot them. They beat us, insulted us, and took girls away in cars. We walked for hours among the dead, stepping over bodies of people we knew.
The overwhelming evidence collected clearly indicates that the RSF’s actions constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), including the prohibitions on murder, cruel treatment, starvation as a method of warfare, and attacks on civilians and protected facilities such as hospitals. Recent violations amount to war crimes and, where part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, persecution, deportation or forcible transfer, and rape and other forms of sexual violence.
“RSF commanders and leadership have failed to prevent atrocious crimes, incurring criminal responsibility. The loss of hundreds of innocent civilians must be immediately and firmly condemned and those responsible prosecuted and held accountable”, said Antonia Mulvey, LAW’s Executive Director. “Earlier this month, we submitted a legal brief to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on behalf of 22 Darfuri women survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, urging accountability for the RSF’s campaign of murder, rape, and persecution in El Geneina since 2023. The ICC must now make public the status of any arrest warrant applications against RSF members and move forward with accountability for these and other crimes.”
All states and private actors must immediately cease all forms of material support, including arms transfers, that fuel the atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and others in El Fasher and across Darfur, or face accountability for aiding internationally wrongful acts. The RSF and all parties to the conflict must unconditionally ensure the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers, allow unimpeded humanitarian access, restore vital communications, and enable independent monitoring and investigation into war crimes. Furthermore, the UN Security Council, the African Union, and regional partners must take urgent, decisive measures, including targeted sanctions against responsible commanders and enablers, enforcing a comprehensive arms embargo, and using their influence to press for the immediate withdrawal of all fighters from civilian areas.
For more information, please contact:
Hannah Copeland, Communications Manager, Email: [email protected]