UN says hundreds of civilians and unarmed fighters may have been executed in Sudan, a war crime
This handout photo, released by the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on October 30, 2025, shows RSF members reportedly detaining a fighter known as Abu Lulu (L) in El-Fasher, in Sudan’s war-torn western Darfur region. — Rapid Support Forces (RSF)/AFP
Hundreds of civilians and unarmed fighters were executed or captured when a major city was captured by paramilitaries.
Activists and analysts have long warned of ethnicity-based revenge killings by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) if they seize al-Fashir – the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in Darfur.
The UN human rights office shared other stories on Friday, estimating that hundreds of civilians and unarmed fighters may have been executed. Such killings are considered war crimes.
The RSF, whose victory in al-Fashir marks a milestone in Sudan’s two-and-a-half-year civil war, has denied such abuses, saying the reports were fabricated by its enemies and making counter-accusations against them.
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Hundreds of people fleeing violence in El-Fasher, the capital of western Sudan’s North Darfur state, have arrived in Sudan’s northern state after a “difficult and dangerous journey”, a local medical group said on Saturday.
The displaced families escaped the “massacres” carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El-Fasher and arrived in the Al-Dabba area, the Sudan Doctors Network said in a post on US social media company X.
It warned that the new arrivals are living in “dire humanitarian conditions”, with inadequate shelter, severe shortages of food and clean water, and a lack of basic health services, mainly affecting children, women and the elderly.
“These families now face serious living challenges beyond the capacity of host communities,” the network said, warning that the number of displaced people is expected to rise sharply in the coming days as the deterioration of the situation in Darfur continues.
Displaced Sudanese gather and sit in makeshift tents after fleeing Al-Fashir town in Darfur, Tawila, Sudan, on October 29, 2025, in this still image from a Reuters video. PHOTO: REUTERS
It called on local authorities and humanitarian groups “inside and outside Sudan” to provide urgent medical aid, food, shelter and psychological support to prevent “a total collapse of the humanitarian situation.”
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday that more than 62,000 people from El-Fasher were displaced within four days after the Rapid RSF took control of the city.
El-Fasher fell under RSF control earlier this week after a months-long siege. Rights groups have accused the paramilitary group of committing mass killings, detaining people and attacking hospitals.
Sudan has been ravaged by a civil war between the army and the RSF since April 2023, resulting in thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions of people.
‘Apocalyptic situation’
The foreign ministers of Britain, Germany and Jordan jointly called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan on Saturday, following reports of atrocities and human rights abuses in the Darfur region.
Speaking at a security summit in the Bahraini capital Manama, ministers condemned what they described as “horrific” violence committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the town of El-Fasher.
The statement comes as the UN warns that the RSF has gone on rampage through El-Fasher, killing hundreds of civilians and carrying out ethnically targeted attacks.
A member of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been fighting the country’s army since April last year. PHOTO: REUTERS
Officials say more than 450 people have died in hospital, and there have been reports of mass executions and sexual violence.
The RSF has denied that people were killed at the hospital. However, satellite images, videos shared on social media and stories from those who fled the city indicate widespread violence and destruction.
At the Manama Dialogue security summit, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper described the situation as a “humanitarian crisis and devastating conflict” that the international community has failed to address.
“Just as a combination of leadership and international cooperation has made progress in Gaza, the country is currently failing to address the humanitarian crisis and devastating conflict in Sudan as reports from Darfur in recent days include truly horrific atrocities,” Cooper said.
“Mass executions, famine and the devastating use of rape as a weapon of war, with women and children bearing the brunt of the greatest humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. For too long, this terrible conflict has been neglected, while the suffering has only increased.
“No amount of aid can solve a crisis of this magnitude until the guns fall silent,” she added.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul echoed Cooper’s warning, describing the situation in Sudan as “absolutely an apocalyptic situation.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Sudan has not “received the attention it deserves,” calling the crisis “of inhuman proportions.”
“We have to stop that,” he said.
Since April 15, 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been locked in a war that numerous regional and international mediations have failed to end. According to UN and local reports, the conflict has killed around 20,000 people and displaced more than 15 million people as refugees and internally displaced persons.
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