A United Nations report says Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed more than 6,000 people in just three days during their final offensive to capture the city of el‑Fasher in Darfur last October, in what the UN calls war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.
The UN Human Rights Office documented these killings through interviews with over 140 victims and witnesses in Sudan's Northern state and eastern Chad in late 2025. The report states that at least 4,400 people were killed inside el‑Fasher in the first three days, and more than 1,600 others died along exit routes as they tried to flee, suggesting the total death toll for the week‑long offensive is likely much higher.
The UN describes a "wave of intense violence, shocking in its scale and brutality" as the RSF stormed the city after an 18‑month siege, according to the BBC. Survivors and witnesses say they saw bodies thrown into the air as RSF fighters opened fire on around 1,000 people sheltering in a university building, and several accounts describe mass executions, torture, kidnappings, and sexual violence against civilians.
The UN report classifies the RSF's actions in el‑Fasher as war crimes and warns that elements of crimes against humanity may also have been committed, including the summary execution of civilians and attacks on those trying to escape. Human rights investigators say the pattern of violence suggests a systematic targeting of non‑combatants, with strong signs of ethnic discrimination in some killings.
The RSF has not responded directly to the UN's latest findings but has previously denied similar allegations of mass killings and atrocities. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for an independent investigation and accountability for those responsible, while stressing that civilians in el‑Fasher remain at high risk of further violence and famine‑like conditions, UN News reported.
UN officials warn that the pattern of violence in el‑Fasher mirrors earlier atrocities committed by the RSF in other parts of Darfur, raising fears of more large‑scale attacks if no strong international pressure is applied.
The UN has called for an immediate extension of the Darfur arms embargo to all of Sudan, protection of civilians, and unimpeded humanitarian access, while urging states to support a full investigation that could refer evidence to the International Criminal Court.
Human rights groups stress that any accountability effort must also examine the role of regional states and foreign actors who allegedly supply weapons and political support to the RSF, which they say has helped sustain the militia's campaign of violence. Without meaningful sanctions and targeted travel or financial restrictions, these groups argue, the RSF will continue to operate with near‑total impunity across Darfur and beyond, as per ISHR.
