The human‑rights group Amnesty International has released a report alleging that Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed crimes against humanity, including ethnic cleansing, during its offensive to seize the city of El Fasher in western Darfur.
Amnesty’s findings describe a systematic campaign targeting civilians that involved murder, torture, rape, enslavement and sexual slavery. The organization says the RSF deliberately used these atrocities to force the displacement of the city’s predominantly non‑Arab population, aiming to change the area’s ethnic composition.
The report cites survivor testimonies, medical examinations and satellite imagery to document the scale of the abuses. According to Amnesty, RSF fighters entered El Fasher in early May 2024 and, over the subsequent weeks, carried out mass killings, set fire to homes and public buildings, and detained men, women and children in makeshift detention sites where torture and sexual violence were reported.
Amnesty also alleges that RSF commanders ordered the destruction of cultural and religious sites linked to the city’s non‑Arab communities, a pattern the group says meets the legal definition of ethnic cleansing. The organization urges the International Criminal Court and the United Nations to launch investigations and to hold RSF leaders accountable.
The Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council, which nominally oversees the country’s security forces, has denied the allegations. In a statement released on Monday, the council called Amnesty’s report “unsubstantiated” and warned that external actors were seeking to “undermine Sudan’s stability.” The council did not provide its own data on civilian casualties in El Fasher.
The United Nations has expressed concern over the escalating violence in Darfur but has not yet confirmed the specific claims made by Amnesty. A UN spokesperson said the agency is monitoring the situation and will consider further action if credible evidence of mass atrocities emerges.
Analysis:
Amnesty’s report arrives amid a broader power struggle between the RSF and Sudan’s regular army, a conflict that has devastated large parts of the country since April 2023. If the allegations are verified, they could trigger international legal mechanisms, including referrals to the International Criminal Court, which has previously investigated war crimes in Darfur.
The RSF, originally formed from the Janjaweed militias that were implicated in the early‑2000s Darfur genocide, has long been accused of human‑rights violations. The current accusations of ethnic cleansing, if substantiated, would reinforce claims that the RSF continues to employ a strategy of demographic manipulation to secure territorial control.
The Sudanese government’s dismissal of the report highlights the difficulty of obtaining independent verification in conflict zones. International observers have limited access to El Fasher, and the RSF’s control of the city restricts independent reporting. Nonetheless, the use of satellite imagery and medical evidence by Amnesty adds a layer of verifiability that could pressure the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to act.
The situation also underscores the broader regional implications. Neighboring countries, especially Chad and Libya, have expressed concern about the spill‑over effects of intensified fighting in Darfur. Continued RSF aggression could exacerbate refugee flows and destabilize already fragile border regions.
Sources
Amnesty International report as reported by The Guardian, “Sudan’s RSF committed crimes against humanity in El Fasher, Amnesty says,” July 1 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/01/sudan-rsf-rapid-support-forces-crimes-against-humanity-el-fasher-amnesty-ethnic-cleansing
Story synopsis gathered from: The Guardian World — source
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