UN reported that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces killed more than 6,000 people in El Fasher during a week-long assault, acts described as possible war crimes.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) caused more than 6,000 deaths in the first three days of the attack on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, at the end of an 18-month siege.

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The report, compiled after interviews with more than 140 victims and witnesses in northern Sudan and eastern Chad, details nearly 4,400 killings within the city and more than 1,600 deaths during escape attempts.

The document characterizes the actions of the RSF and associated militias as potential war crimes and crimes against humanity, including massacres, extrajudicial executions, sexual violence, kidnappings for ransom, torture, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, looting, and the recruitment of children. These acts targeted civilians identified by their ethnicity or perceived affiliations.

High Commissioner Volker Türk demanded “thorough and impartial investigations to identify those responsible, including high-ranking officials” and urged accountability through judicial proceedings in Sudan, universal jurisdiction in other countries, or referral of cases to the International Criminal Court. Although the aggression lasted a week, the UN estimates the actual number of victims is considerably higher.

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