Sudan El-Fasher genocide findings have intensified international pressure on the Rapid Support Forces after a United Nations investigation concluded that the siege and capture of the Darfur city bore the “hallmarks of genocide.”
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on three senior commanders of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, citing their roles in what Washington described as a campaign of ethnic killings, torture, starvation and sexual violence.
The measures come as Sudan’s nearly three-year war continues to devastate the country, leaving tens of thousands killed and around 11 million displaced since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the RSF.
UN Report Describes “Hallmarks of Genocide” in El-Fasher
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan stated that the 18-month siege and eventual capture of El-Fasher in October 2025 were marked by coordinated and systematic crimes.
According to the mission’s report, thousands of civilians, particularly from the Zaghawa ethnic group, were killed, raped or forcibly disappeared during and after the takeover. The Zaghawa are among the largest non-Arab communities in the region.
Mission chairman Mohamad Chande Othman said the scale and coordination of the operation, along with public endorsement by senior RSF leaders, showed that the crimes were not isolated acts. He stated that they formed part of a planned operation bearing defining characteristics of genocide.
Investigator Mona Rishmawi said the RSF acted with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Zaghawa and Fur communities in El-Fasher. The mission concluded that at least three underlying acts of genocide were committed, including:
Killing members of a protected ethnic group
• Causing serious bodily or mental harm
• Deliberately inflicting conditions intended to bring about physical destruction
The mission interviewed 320 witnesses and victims and verified 25 videos as part of its investigation, including field visits to Chad and South Sudan.
Documented Killings and Sexual Violence
The report details three days described as “absolute horror” following the city’s fall. Survivors recounted indiscriminate shootings, mass executions at exit points and streets filled with the bodies of men, women and children.
It also documented widespread detention, torture, extortion and enforced disappearances.
Sexual violence was reported on a large scale, particularly targeting women and girls from non-Arab communities. According to the findings:
Victims ranged in age from seven to 70 years
• Many assaults occurred in front of family members
• Rape was often carried out at sites of mass killings, including El-Saudi Hospital and El-Fasher University
In one case cited in the report, a 12-year-old girl was raped by three RSF fighters after her father was killed while attempting to protect her. She later died from her injuries.
The mission warned that urgent civilian protection is needed in neighboring Kordofan state, which has become a new flashpoint since the fall of El-Fasher.
US Sanctions Target RSF Commanders
In response to the findings and the broader conflict, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on three RSF figures:
Brigadier General Elfateh Abdullah Idris Adam
• Major General Gedo Hamdan Ahmed Mohamed
• Field commander Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctioned individuals played roles in the prolonged siege and eventual capture of El-Fasher. He called on the RSF to commit immediately to a humanitarian ceasefire.
Bessent described the violence as an ongoing campaign of terror and warned that Sudan’s civil war risks further destabilizing the region, potentially creating conditions for extremist groups to expand.
The United Nations Human Rights Council established the fact-finding mission in October 2023 to collect evidence of violations in the conflict. The war, which began in April 2023, has triggered what the UN describes as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
At a UN Security Council session following the report’s release, Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo called for stronger Council action. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who chaired the meeting, described the accounts in the report as deeply distressing.
Conclusion:
The Sudan El-Fasher genocide findings mark one of the most serious international assessments of atrocities committed during the Sudan conflict. With sanctions now imposed and calls for accountability intensifying, pressure is mounting for international action to halt the violence and protect civilians in Darfur and beyond.
