“The scale, coordination and public support of the operation by senior RSF leaders demonstrate that the crimes committed in and around El Fasher were not random excesses of war,”said Mohamed Chande Othman, president of the mission.
“They were part of a planned and organized operation that has the defining characteristics of genocide.“
‘Hallmarks of the genocide in El Fasher’
Key elements cited by the research mission
- A 18 month siege that “deliberately imposed living conditions” through deprivation of food, water, medical care and humanitarian assistance.
- a pattern of identity-based segmentation linked to ethnicity, gender and perceived political affiliation.
- Documented mass murder accusationswidespread rape and other types of sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, torture and cruel treatment, extortion and forced disappearances.
- Reported The perpetrator’s rhetoric explicitly calls for elimination. from non-Arab communities, cited as proof of intent.
- A warning that, without prevention and accountability, the The risk of new genocidal acts remains “serious and continuous.”
Read more about the Fact Finding Mission here.
500 day siege
The findings focus on events in and around El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, during the RSF takeover in late October 2025, following what the mission described as an 18-month siege that progressively cut off civilians from access to food, water, medical supplies and humanitarian assistance.
The report said the siege “systematically weakened the target population through hunger, deprivation, trauma and confinement.” leaving many unable to flee when the assault occurred.
The Sudan conflict erupted on April 15, 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its former allies, the paramilitary RSF. Since then, the war has spread across large areas of the country, and civilians have repeatedly borne the brunt of urban warfare, shifting front lines, and the collapse of basic services.
The fact-finding mission said that The conduct at El Fasher was “an aggravation of previous patterns” of attacks. about other non-Arab communities in other parts of Sudan, “but on a much more lethal scale.“
Genocidal intent ‘the reasonable inference’
Genocidal intent, the mission said, was “the only reasonable inference” from RSF’s “systematic pattern of ethnic killings, sexual violence, destruction, and public statements explicitly calling for the elimination of non-Arab communities.”
Survivors quoted RSF fighters as saying: “Are there any Zaghawa among you? If we find Zaghawa, we will kill you all”; and “We want to eliminate everything black from Darfur.”
Hunger, denial of assistance, mass murder, rape, torture and forced disappearances… allow only a reasonable inference: these are the characteristics of genocide.
“The body of evidence we collected – including prolonged siege, starvation and denial of humanitarian assistance, followed by mass killings, rape, torture and enforced disappearances, systematic humiliation and the perpetrators’ own statements – leaves only a reasonable inference,” said Mona Rishmawi, a member of the mission.
“The RSF acted with the intention of destroying, in whole or in part, the Zaghawa and Fur communities in El Fasher. These are the characteristics of genocide,”he added.
The Zaghawa and Fur are among the largest non-Arab ethnic communities in the western Darfur region of Sudan. Both groups have historically faced discrimination and were heavily targeted during previous waves of violence in Darfur that began in the early 2000s. Many families in and around El Fasher had already been displaced several times before the current conflict.
An urban landscape in Darfur, Sudan. (file photo)
No action despite many warnings
The report describes identity-based attacks linked to ethnicity, gender and perceived political affiliation as central to the operation, including the targeted targeting of Zaghawa and Fur women and girls during sexual violence, while women perceived as Arab were often spared.
The mission also noted repeated warnings and “clearly identified atrocity risk indicators” before the takeover, including international calls from mid-2024 to end the siege and protect civilians. “Despite these warnings, neither party took effective measures to protect the civilian population,” said.
With the conflict expanding to other regions, including Kordofan, the mission warned that urgent civil protection is needed “now more than ever.” Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, another member of the mission, said the conduct at El Fasher was “an acute manifestation of patterns consistent with genocidal violence.”
Hold perpetrators accountable
In the absence of effective prevention and accountability, the mission assessed that “The risk of new genocidal acts remains serious and constant.”
“Perpetrators at all levels of authority must be held accountable,” Othman said. “When evidence indicates genocide, the international community has a greater obligation to prevent, protect and ensure justice is done.”
The fact-finding mission was established by the UN Human Rights Council in October 2023 and was mandated to investigate alleged human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in the conflict, including identifying, where possible, those responsible.
The report will be presented to the Human Rights Council on February 26, 2026.