Geneva – Sudan Now | 13 February 2026
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the RSF committed serious violations amounting to war crimes, and potentially crimes against humanity, during their final assault to seize control of the city of Al Fashir last October, noting that more than 6,000 killings were documented in the first three days of the operation.
The report, released on Friday, said it was based on interviews with more than 140 victims and witnesses inside Sudan and eastern Chad in late 2025. It stated that at least 4,400 people were killed inside Al Fashir during the initial days of the assault, in addition to more than 1,600 who died along escape routes while attempting to flee, stressing that the actual death toll is likely far higher.
The report noted that the RSF, along with allied Arab militias, carried out mass killings, extrajudicial executions, sexual violence, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, as well as widespread looting, in addition to recruiting and using children in combat. It added that many of the attacks targeted civilians on an ethnic basis or because of their perceived affiliation with the Sudanese Armed Forces or the joint forces.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that “the grave violations committed confirm that the persistent lack of accountability fuels cycles of violence,” calling for independent and credible investigations that would lead to holding those responsible to account, whether before independent Sudanese courts, through universal jurisdiction, or at the International Criminal Court.
The report added that the pattern of violations in Al Fashir mirrors what was previously documented in earlier attacks on Zamzam camp in April 2025, as well as in Al Junaynah and Ardamata in 2023, pointing to “an organized and sustained course of conduct that may amount to a systematic attack against the civilian population in the Darfur region.”
Türk renewed his call to respect the existing arms embargo, halt the supply of weapons or military support to the parties to the conflict, and support regional and international efforts aimed at ending hostilities and reaching a comprehensive political settlement.
