Full Breakdown
Amnesty International Accuses Sudan’s RSF of Crimes Against Humanity in El Fasher Siege
7/1/2026, 10:12:07 PM
RSF Siege
Amnesty International reports that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing while besieging El Fasher, Darfur’s capital, from May 2024 until its capture on 26 October 2025, killings, torture, rape, sexual slavery, displacement and attacks on children.
Background
The Sudan war erupted in April 2023 when the Sudan Armed Forces (Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan) clashed with RSF (Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, “Hemedti”). RSF controlled four of Darfur’s five capitals, leaving El Fasher as the sole SAF stronghold. The siege began in May 2024 and ended with a final offensive on 26 October 2025 that used a 57-km berm network to trap civilians.
Data
Amnesty interviewed 247 people (208 survivors, 39 children) and examined 89 videos. It verified 19 videos of killings, nine showing commander Al-Fateh Idris (“Abu Lulu”) executing civilians. Reported deaths range from 6,000 in three days (Daily Sabah) to “tens of thousands” (The Guardian); the UN estimates 59,000 deaths and 13 million displaced.
Eyewitness Accounts
A 17-year-old Zaghawa boy said RSF fighters beat, tied and shot him after calling him “child of a falangay.” A 58-year-old woman reported bodies piled in the berms, noting “they would fill the berm with the corpses.” Survivors described executions, rape, sexual slavery, a manufactured famine that forced residents to eat ambaz, and child abduction.
Official Response
Amnesty secretary-general Agnès Callamard demanded an immediate nationwide ceasefire, deployment of an international protection force and expansion of the UN arms embargo to Sudan. The UN fact-finding mission said the 2025 assault bore “hallmarks of genocide.” Amnesty also urged states to halt arms supplies to the RSF and the United Arab Emirates until UN embargoes are respected.
Criticism
The RSF has not responded to Amnesty’s June 10 2026 letter to General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Sides have been accused of atrocities, and the lack of an impartial investigative mechanism hampers accountability.
Conflicts
Casualty estimates vary from 6,000 deaths in three days (Daily Sabah) to “tens of thousands” (The Guardian); the UN cites 59,000 deaths. Displacement ranges from “millions” to the UN’s 13 million. No RSF comment is available.
Quotes
- “The war in Sudan is a war on civilians.” — Agnès Callamard, Amnesty
- “Children were not collateral damage of this violence – often, they were deliberately targeted and have suffered immensely.” — Agnès Callamard, Amnesty
- “A nationwide ceasefire is immediately needed.” — Agnès Callamard, Amnesty
- “They tied me up and beat me with sticks and the back of an AK-47… then he just shot me in the leg.” — 17-year-old Zaghawa boy, survivor
Outlook
Amnesty urges the UN Security Council to approve a robust peacekeeping mandate, expand the arms embargo and refer alleged perpetrators to the International Criminal Court. UN and African Union fact-finding missions continue probing command responsibility and genocide.
