UN probe finds RSF massprobe finds RSF mass killings and rapes in Sudan amount to genocide
A United Nations investigation found that Sudan's Rapid Support Forces committed genocide in el-Fasher by carrying out mass killings, gang rapes, and deliberate starvation as part of an intentional policy.
The probe documented these atrocities in the western city besieged and captured by RSF forces last year. This finding marks the first formal genocide designation in the ongoing Sudan civil war and could trigger international legal action.
- The conflict in Sudan began in April 2023 when the RSF and Sudanese army clashed over a planned security integration.
- Darfur has been a site of recurring violence since the 2003 genocide that killed over 300,000 people.
- El-Fasher is the last major city in North Sudan state not fully controlled by RSF forces.
Sudan Civil War
Sudan's civil war has entered its fourth year, now defined by a de facto partition: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) control Khartoum, the east, and parts of Kordofan, while the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) dominate all of Darfur and hold parts of central Kordofan. The RSF captured El Fasher in October 2025 after an 18-month siege, consolidating rule over all Darfur states, while the SAF reclaimed Khartoum and the presidential palace in early 2025, officially returning the government to the capital in January 2026. Front lines have largely stabilized into this split, yet hostilities have intensified in Kordofan and Darfur, marked by widespread drone warfare and documented atrocities, including mass killings and ethnic violence.
1 January
Open fighting breaks out between the SAF and RSF, spreading across Sudan and triggering a massive humanitarian crisis.1 January
Talks on integrating the RSF into the army fail to resolve the power struggle.1 January
A military takeover ends the civilian transition, deepening rivalry between Burhan and Hemedti.
