More than 6,000 people were killed during a three-day assault by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the city of el-Fasher in North Darfur, according to a new United Nations report describing the violence as “shocking in its scale and brutality.”
The findings were released by the United Nations Human Rights Office, which said the RSF’s late-October offensive involved widespread atrocities that may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“The wanton violations that were perpetrated by the RSF and allied Arab militia in the final offensive on el-Fasher underscore that persistent impunity fuels continued cycles of violence,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
The RSF and allied Arab militias, commonly known as the Janjaweed, seized el-Fasher the Sudanese army’s last major stronghold in Darfur on October 26 after more than 18 months of siege. Fighters reportedly swept through the city and surrounding areas following the takeover.
The 29-page UN report documents mass killings, summary executions, sexual violence, abductions for ransom, torture, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary detention. Many of the attacks were described as ethnically motivated.
The RSF did not respond to requests for comment. Its leader, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has previously acknowledged abuses by his forces but disputed the reported scale of atrocities.
The UN Human Rights Office said at least 4,400 people were killed inside el-Fasher between October 25 and 27, while more than 1,600 others died while attempting to flee. The figures were based on interviews with 140 victims and witnesses, corroborated by satellite imagery and video analysis.
In one incident, RSF fighters reportedly opened fire with heavy weapons on approximately 1,000 civilians sheltering in a dormitory at el-Fasher University on October 26, killing around 500 people. A witness described seeing bodies hurled into the air, “like a scene out of a horror movie,” according to the report.
Another account detailed the execution of about 600 people — including 50 children — who were taking refuge at university facilities the same day.
The UN cautioned that the actual death toll from the week-long offensive is “undoubtedly significantly higher.” The estimate does not include at least 460 people reportedly killed when RSF forces stormed the Saudi Maternity Hospital on October 28, according to the World Health Organization.
An additional 300 people were said to have died in shelling and drone strikes on the Abu Shouk displacement camp between October 23 and 24.
The report indicates that sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, was widespread during the assault. Women and girls from the African Zaghawa non-Arab community were allegedly targeted over suspected ties to the Sudanese military.
Türk, who visited Sudan last month, said survivor testimonies revealed that sexual violence “was systematically used as a weapon of war.”
The RSF also allegedly abducted civilians attempting to escape, releasing some only after ransom payments. Thousands were reportedly held in at least 10 detention centers across el-Fasher, including facilities such as the city’s Children’s Hospital, which was converted into a detention site. Many individuals remain missing.
The UN report states that the assault on el-Fasher follows a broader pattern of RSF attacks seen in other parts of Darfur, including Zamzam displacement camp and the West Darfur city of Geneina and nearby Ardamata in 2023.
The conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army erupted in April 2023 after a power struggle escalated into full-scale war in the capital, Khartoum, and across the country. The fighting has since created what aid agencies describe as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with famine spreading in several regions.
The International Criminal Court has launched investigations into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the conflict. The RSF has also faced accusations of genocide from U.S. officials during the Biden administration.
Türk said there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that RSF fighters and allied militias committed war crimes and acts amounting to crimes against humanity, calling for accountability at all levels of command.
He warned that without justice, “persistent impunity fuels continued cycles of violence.”
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