Explained: Why a UN report found RSF committed genocide in Sudan’s el-Fasher

A UN report published this week has laid out how Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed mass crimes as it seized the city of el-Fasher in late October. 

The mission found that the attack bore the “hallmarks of genocide”.

The Sudan war erupted in April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, spiralled into open conflict.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and 13 million have been displaced. 

The violence escalated four months ago, as the RSF brutally captured el-Fasher after besieging the city for a year and a half. 

The UN’s report looked into the lead up to the seizure of North Darfur's state capital, as well as crimes committed during and after the capture of the city. 

Middle East Eye breaks down some of the key findings. 

Hallmarks of genocide 

The mission found that acts committed by the RSF in and around el-Fasher present indications pointing to genocide. 

It said that at least three material crimes of genocide were “overwhelmingly present”: killing members of a group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about partial or whole physical destruction.

It noted that the International Criminal Court held in its case against Omar al-Bashir, the former Sudanese president, that the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa are protected ethnic groups within the meaning of Article 6 of the Rome Statute concerning genocide. 

These groups have been widely targeted by the RSF in recent months.

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The mission found a systemic pattern of conduct by the RSF, including large-scale killings, mass-scale rape, gang-rape, forms of torture and cruel treatment, and imposing deliberate starvation conditions.  

It said that based on the sequence of events in and around el-Fasher, and language used by commanders and direct perpetrators stating intention to eliminate all Zaghawa and Fur people, the RSF “acted with genocidal intent”. 

It also established other crimes, including the crimes against humanity of extermination and persecution on ethnic, gender or political grounds; as well as the war crimes of murder, torture, rape and starvation. 

The mission called on the international community to immediately bring an end to the violence, and to bring perpetrators to justice. 

Siege and ethnic targeting before takeover 

The report outlined how the RSF besieged the people of el-Fasher and surrounding camps for 18 months, committing several atrocities in the process. 

The paramilitary group and its allies cut off food, water, medical supplies and humanitarian assistance, and repeatedly attacked the city with shelling and ground assaults. 

Civilian infrastructure in populated areas was attacked with drones and heavy weapons. These included communal kitchens, medical facilities and places of worship. 

Weeks before el-Fasher was taken over, an RSF drone struck Al-Safiya Mosque in Daraja Oula during dawn prayers, killing around 70 people, including 11 children. Another mosque was attacked in Abu Shouk on 8 October.

A previous UN mission had found that in other parts of Darfur, including El Geneina, the RSF and allied Arab militias repeatedly targeted non-Arab communities, particularly the Masalit. 

The latest mission found a repeat of these patterns in el-Fasher, with survivors describing RSF troops openly stating their intention to target non-Arab communities. 

The phrases heard by witnesses include: “Is there anyone Zaghawa among you? If we find Zaghawa, we will kill them all”; “We want to eliminate anything black from Darfur”; and “We will carry out extermination against you, an extermination like what we did to Masalit."

Starvation as a weapon 

During the siege, starvation tactics were repeatedly used. 

The mission found accounts of markets attacked and looted, supply routes into the city cut and trucks carrying food either denied entry or targeted. 

Anyone attempting to leave or enter the city for food risked being shot or detained. 

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The RSF constructed earthen berms with trenches encircling el-Fasher, with multiple checkpoints around it. It effectively trapped civilians inside, without adequate water, food or medical care.

Survivors said they resorted to eating animal fodder, tree leaves or residual peanut oil. Even those items became too expensive to afford. 

The report said people died due to starvation and malnutrition, particularly children and the elderly. 

El-Fasher’s water infrastructure was also destroyed, leading to the spread of disease. 

Medical facilities, already critically limited, were repeatedly attacked, leaving only one facility (El-Saudi Hospital) partially functional at the time of the RSF takeover. Many patients with treatable illnesses died due to inadequate care. 

RSF committed mass killings during takeover

On 24 October, the Sudanese armed forces withdrew from el-Fasher and handed over control to its allies, the Joint Forces. 

Two days later, the RSF entered the city from multiple directions and seized it.

Survivors told the mission of widespread killings, including indiscriminate shootings. 

One described being ambushed by RSF troops with 20 of her family members at the livestock market northeast of the city. Seven people were taken and killed.

She recounted one of the perpetrators stating: “I am from the Mahri Arabs, and the Joint Forces killed our people, and today we will kill you all.”

Several survivors reported lying down among corpses and pretending to be dead when RSF vehicles approached. 

Killings were reported at the exit points of the city, where men were separated from women and children. Civilian men were beaten with sticks, and many were later killed. 

RSF troops recorded themselves executing people at the berms and chanting racist slogans. Videos showed fighters accusing people of being “Falangai/Falangayat” or “Abolda”, derogatory slurs linked to ethnicity.

There were also killings at El-Saudi Hospital, where one survivor saw RSF troops killing patients. 

It is estimated that 460 patients and others were killed at the hospital. According to satellite imagery, their corpses were later burned. 

‘Abu Lulu’ killed defenceless people

The notorious RSF commander known as Abu Lulu committed several atrocities, according to video footage and testimony. 

Videos showed him executing detainees in civilian clothes, and forcing others to chant “Hemedti is on top” or “My Master is Abu Lulu”. 

In one video, Abu Lulu says “I swear to God if you were Burhan himself, I would rape you”. 

Survivors said Abu Lulu personally carried out executions of defenceless people in multiple locations, including at el-Fasher University. 

On 27 October, a family of 13 was forced to walk to the university at gunpoint, passing corpses along the way. 

There they were confronted by Abu Lulu, who shouted “I will kill you like fat autumn locusts”. 

He began shooting at random, before stating: “I was planning to kill 2,000 people today, but I lost count, so I will start all over again.” He then resumed shooting. 

Two survivors witnessed Abu Lulu asking a pregnant woman how far she was in her pregnancy. 

The woman said seven months, to which the commander fired seven bullets into her abdomen and killed her. 

Several witnesses said he moved through university buildings ordering people to be shot. 

He was eventually stopped by other RSF members, but by then hundreds of people had been killed. 

Abu Lulu was later arrested, but there has been no further information about his whereabouts or any judicial proceedings. 

Sexual violence and rape used as collective punishment

The report noted that a central part of the RSF takeover was widespread and systematic acts of sexual violence. 

It was primarily targeted towards women and girls from non-Arab communities, particularly the Zaghawa. Women and girls aged between seven and 70, including pregnant women, were targeted.

Survivors reported being raped in front of their relatives, including children, causing humiliation and psychological harm. 

Sexual violence was often accompanied by extreme acts of physical brutality, including whipping and beatings.

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Rapes occurred both vaginally and anally, and sometimes involved the insertion of sharp objects. 

In one case, a 12-year-old girl was raped by three RSF fighters in front of her mother, shortly after her father was killed trying to protect her. The girl died from her injuries.

The mission also heard accounts of women, particularly from the Zaghawa community, being gang-raped in forests along escape routes. 

Survivors reported the abduction of women and girls, some under the age of 18, by the paramilitary. The location of many of those abducted is still unknown. 

One survivor said she was abducted on her way to nearby Tawila after she said she was Zaghawa. RSF fighters tied her to a tree, left her naked and repeatedly raped her over six days. The report said it amounted to sexual slavery. 

The mission stated that women and girls were directly targeted as part of a campaign of terror and collective punishment. 

Survivors reported RSF fighters saying: “These are slaves. Kill them, destroy them, rape them”, “We are your only men, no other men” and “You must give birth to our children”.

Detentions, disappearances and ransom 

The UN documented a pattern of detentions and enforced disappearances of civilians and wounded fighters. 

Much of this took place at the berms and checkpoints, where survivors described being intercepted and accused of being affiliated with the Sudanese army or Joint Forces. 

The perpetrators robbed victims of their belongings and held them at makeshift checkpoints and detention sites. 

RSF fighters subjected detainees to “severe humiliation and physical abuse”, the report said. 

One survivor described guards urinating on detainees, being burned with hot irons and being beaten with sticks, whips and pliers. 

Other survivors said they were subjected to forced labour, including transporting weapons and digging graves. 

Extortion and ransom was integral RSF practice, the report found, with many detainees’ families contacted. Payments were demanded of up to 25m Sudanese pounds for their release. 

Survivors said that the scale of ransom was based on ethnicity, with Zaghawa being the most costly, followed by Fur and Masalit.