We urgently call for the deployment of a protection force in Sudan to protect and deter attacks against civilians amid the escalating violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A robust force is vital to protect women, children, and at-risk communities, ensuring their safety and facilitating humanitarian aid. Sign the petition and demand deployment of a Protection Force in Sudan now.
Archiv: Rapid Support Forces (RSF) / militia / Sudan
Exclusive: ICC prosecutors shelved RSF arrest warrant as Sudan atrocities mounted
The International Criminal Court‘s prosecutorâs office has not applied for a single arrest warrant over crimes committed in Sudan‘s Darfur region since the country‘s devastating war began in April 2023, despite more than three years of investigation and repeated public assurances that charges were imminent, Middle East Eye can reveal.
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For more than a year after Khan‘s leave of absence in May 2025, the prosecution did not provide any explanation to the pretrial chamber regarding the late application.
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The deputy prosecutor, who is currently in charge of the Darfur investigation, has yet to provide a timeline for any other arrest warrants, MEE understands.
CITY UNDER SIEGE, CHILDREN UNDER FIRE: RAPID SUPPORT FORCESâ CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN NORTH DARFUR
During nearly three years of brutal conflict, civilians in North Darfur have been unlawfully detained, tortured and killed on a massive scale. Women and girls have been raped and forced into sexual slavery. Children have not just been the collateral damage of this violence: very often, they are deliberate targets.
This report documents the Rapid Support Forcesâ (RSFâs) slow and violent takeover of North Darfur and its capital, El Fasher, after it began fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in April 2023. The abuses, which amount to crimes against humanity under international law, displaced hundreds of thousands of children, exposing them to death and injury during attacks or while fleeing. Countless children have been orphaned.
Sudanâs current crisis erupted against the backdrop of decades of armed conflict. When major violence escalated in April 2023 between the SAF and the RSF (a former government force), fighting was first concentrated in the capital, Khartoum. But it soon spread to other parts of the country, including Darfur, a region on the western border with Chad that has been wracked by cycles of conflict since the early 2000s. By November 2023, the RSF controlled four of the five state capitals in Darfur.
El Fasher was the lone holdout and last major stronghold in Darfur for the SAF and the allied Joint Forces (a coalition of local armed groups that draws heavily from the Zaghawa ethnic group). The area is of particular strategic importance due to its sizeable gold reserves and its position as a geographical hub linking Darfur to Libya and Chad along trans-Saharan trade routes. It became a prize the RSF seemed willing to take at any price â something made possible by the steady flow of weapons and other equipment from its foreign backers, most notably the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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TO THE AFRICAN UNION PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL
– Apply sustained political pressure on the RSF, SAF and all other parties to the conflict in Sudan to immediately agree to and implement a nationwide ceasefire accompanied by a sustainable framework for longer-term security and stability, human rights protection, justice and accountability. Regardless of progress towards a ceasefire, use all available leverage to urge all parties to immediately end attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, ensure safe and unfettered humanitarian access into North Darfur, and urgently facilitate the scaling up of humanitarian funding and response commensurate with the scale of civilian need.
– In line with the recommendation of the ACHPRâs Joint Fact-Finding Mission on the Human Rights Situation in the Republic of the Sudan, and given the ongoing risk to civilians, urgently establish and deploy a protection force to Sudan with a mandate to protect and deter attacks against civilians, prevent atrocities, create the security conditions conducive to the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and monitor and publicly report on attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. Ensure the protection force is adequately resourced, equipped and supported to operate effectively, including through predictable and sustainable financing.
Sudan: RSF atrocities in El Fasher âa stain on the conscience of humanityâ â new report
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during its campaign to seize El Fasher in North Darfur state in Sudan, Amnesty International concluded in a major new report. The organization is now calling for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, and for the urgent deployment of an international force to protect civilians.
Chinese drone downed in Iran, sparking questions about UAE or Saudi Arabian role
Nicole Grajewski, the author of Russia and Iran: Partners in Defiance from Syria to Ukraine, said that Iran does not possess the Wing Loong Drone in its arsenal.
Neither the US nor Israel is known to operate Wing Loong II drones, but Saudi Arabia and the UAE have them in their arsenal.
The Wing Loong drone has featured prominently in Sudanâs civil war, where the UAE has deployed them in support of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to The New York Times.
Sudan: Hallmarks of Genocide in El-Fasher – Report of the independent international fact-finding mission for the Sudan
10. International human rights law applies concurrently with international humanitarian law, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948, to which Sudan is a state Party. International criminal law also applies, and the situation in Darfur from 1 July 2002 is subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolution 1593 ( 2005 ).
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14. The Rapid Support Forcesâ military campaign was reinforced by local Arab militias and allied groups, and by mercenaries reportedly deployed through foreign security firms or networks and equipped with advanced weaponry and communications systems. Witnesses described the Rapid Support Forcesâ use of heavy artillery, drones and electronic warfare capabilities. The Rapid Support Forces appear to have benefited from logistical military support, in violation of the arms embargo under Security Council resolution 1593 (2005 ).
Sudan: Evidence in El-Fasher reveals genocidal campaign, targeting non-Arab communities, UN Fact-Finding Mission says
19 February 2026
GENEVA â The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan said in a new report today that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out a coordinated campaign of destruction against non-Arab communities in and around El-Fasher, the hallmarks of which point to genocide. While the Mission documented war crimes and crimes against humanity, the evidence establishes that at least three underlying acts of genocide were committed.
These acts include killing members of a protected ethnic group; causing serious bodily and mental harm; and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the groupâs physical destruction in whole or in part â all core elements of the crime of genocide under international law.
The report to the Human Rights Council, âHallmarks of Genocide in El-Fasher,â found that genocidal intent is the only reasonable inference that can be drawn from the RSFâs systematic pattern of ethnically targeted killings, sexual violence, destruction, and public statements explicitly calling for the elimination of non-Arab communities, particularly the Zaghawa and Fur.
How a UN expert proved the RSF committed genocide in Sudan‘s el-Fasher
Mona Rishmawi, a member of the UN Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan (FFMS) and an expert on the Darfur conflict, said the mission‘s conclusion represents a âserious and urgentâ finding that should compel governments to take immediate steps to halt weapons flows to the RSF.
âThis report, and the conclusion that the threshold of genocide has been reached, has to be taken extremely seriously,â she told MEE in an interview on Sunday. âIf the same modus operandi continues, we will see more situations like el-Fasher. Stopping the flow of weapons is essential.â
Though it denies the charges, there is widespread evidence, as reported by MEE, linking the United Arab Emirates with the supply of arms and other goods to the RSF.
Warlords, sheikhs and politicians: The men at the heart of Sudan‘s bloodshed
The conflict, now well into its third year, has seen the RSF, SAF and their allies battle each other across one of Africa‘s largest countries
US, UAE discuss Sudan after Trump vows to end war there
The top American and Emirati diplomat spoke Friday about the need to end the Sudan war, the US State Department said.
âThe Secretary and the Foreign Minister continued discussions on our collective efforts to achieving a humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan,â State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said after a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.
Trump pledges to end Sudan war, marking major shift in US stance
(Novemeber 20, 2025)
Trump admitted that the devastating war between Sudan‘s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was „not on my charts“ before Prince Mohammed bin Salman pushed him to get involved.
But Trump said he would now work to „stabilise“ the conflict with regional powers, notably including the United Arab Emirates, which denies accusations of backing the RSF with weapons and mercenaries.
New light shed on el-Fasher horror as survivors arrive in Sudanâs Tawila
The memories of what happened in el-Fasher were difficult for her to put into words.
âThe dead bodies were everywhere â in the streets, inside houses and at the gates of many houses,â Yahya told Al Jazeera. âWherever you are in el-Fasher, you will see dead bodies scattered.â
Her testimony is one of several accounts from people who fled North Darfurâs capital after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group fighting Sudanâs regular army, captured the city on October 26.
Aid Groups Warn Thousands at Risk in Darfur After RSF Takeover
(November 2, 2025)
Days after Sudanâs Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, in a violent assault that included the killing of more than 400 people at a hospital, aid groups warn that tens of thousands of civilians are at risk amid continuing violence, including some that may be trapped in el-Fasher and others harmed while fleeing.
Fears grow for thousands trapped in Sudan‘s el-Fasher
(Novemebr 2, 2025)
A total of 70,894 people have been displaced since the RSF took control, it said.
However, less than 6,000 have made it to the nearest camp in Tawila, 65 kilometers (40 miles) away, said Shashwat Saraf, Sudan director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, which runs the camp.
Almost 1,000 people arrived in the last three days, he said.
âThe numbers are still very few. We are not seeing the hundreds of thousands that we were expecting. If people are still in el-Fasher, it will be very difficult for them to survive,â he told The Associated Press by phone from Tawila.
âBlood on the sand. Blood on the handsâ: UN decries worldâs failure as Sudanâs El Fasher falls
âWhat is unfolding in El Fasher recalls the horrors Darfur was subjected to twenty years ago,â Mr. Fletcher said, referring to the atrocities of the early 2000s that shocked the world and eventually led to International Criminal Court indictments.
âBut somehow today we are seeing a very different global reaction â one of resignation,â he continued. âThis is also a crisis of apathy.â
âThe Sudan crisis is, at its core, a failure of protection, and our responsibility to uphold international law,â Mr. Fletcher said. âAtrocities are committed with unashamed expectation of impunityâŠthe world has failed an entire generation.â
Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on Sudan and South Sudan
(October 30, 2025)
The United States condemns in the strongest terms the horrific violence occurring in El Fasher. The situation is both tragic and appalling.
We have said this before, and we will say it again â the Rapid Support Forces and allied militias have committed genocide.
The RSF has and continues to systematically kill men and boys â even infants â and deliberately target women and children for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence. These crimes are ethnically motivated.
RSF militias are targeting civilians as they flee, killing innocent people escaping conflict, and preventing those who remain from accessing life-saving supplies.
The United States condemns these abhorrent atrocities in no uncertain terms. Those responsible should be held accountable, including through sanctions, as noted by the Sudan Sanctions Panel of Experts in its most recent report.
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Colleagues, ending wars is a priority for President Trump, and the United States remains committed to working with our partners and other stakeholders to resolve the crisis.
Together, we are focused on securing an immediate humanitarian truce, halting external support, and advancing a transition to civilian governance.
UK military equipment used by militia accused of genocide found in Sudan, UN told
(October 28, 2025)
British military equipment has been found on battlefields in Sudan, used by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group accused of genocide, according to documents seen by the UN security council.
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Months after the UN security council first received material alleging that the UAE may have supplied British-made items to the RSF, new data indicates that the British government went on to approve further exports to the Gulf state for military equipment of the same type.
British engines made specifically for a type of UAE-manufactured armoured personnel carrier also appear to have been exported to the Emirates, despite evidence that the vehicles had been used in Libya and Yemen in defiance of UN arms embargos.
Exclusive: Inside the UAE‘s secret Sudan war operation at Somalia‘s Bosaso
âTheyâre frequent and the logistics are transferred immediately to another aircraft that is on standby and is destined for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan through the neighbouring countries,â said Abdullahi, a senior Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) commander at Bosaso Airport, who spoke to Middle East Eye using a different name for security reasons.
According to flight tracking data, satellite imagery, multiple local sources, and US and regional diplomats, the origin of these planes and their cargo is clear: the United Arab Emirates.
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As MEE reported recently, Bosaso is connected to a ring of bases built and expanded by the UAE across the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. The bases, on the islands of Mayun, Abd al-Kuri, Samhah; at the Somaliland port of Berbera and the Yemeni port of Mocha, are all on territory nominally controlled not by the UAE but its allies or clients.
Tens of thousands fleeing on foot amid atrocities in Sudanâs El Fasher
Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN human rights office has received âhorrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,â said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
Speaking from Nairobi to journalists in Geneva, Mr. Magango said numerous testimonies had been received from residents who had fled in terror as the city fell, then âsurvived the threatening journey to Tawila, approximately 70 kilometres awayâ â a journey that takes three to four days on foot.
War in Sudan: Humanitarian, fighting, control developments, October 2025
Sudanâs civil war between the regular army known as the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces continues unabated.
The conflict is well into its third year and has seen both sides allegedly commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. In addition, the RSF is implicated in atrocities that may amount to genocide, especially in the sprawling western region of Darfur.
RSF fighters film themselves massacring Sudanese fleeing el-Fasher
(October 28, 2025)
Middle East Eye has reviewed dozens of video clips and images allegedly taken in el-Fasher since the RSF assault began.
Some were published by the RSF itself; others emerged on social media, particularly Sudanese Telegram groups.
The footage depicts chaotic and bloody scenes, captured by triumphant RSF fighters. Investigations suggest the videos are new.
The Arabic dialect spoken is Sudanese – particularly Darfuri – and the fightersâ dress is consistent with members of the RSF.
Sudan war: El-Fasher massacres reignite calls to boycott UAE
(October 30, 2025)
Calls to boycott the United Arab Emirates and Emirati-linked companies are growing across social media, fuelled by anger over the Gulf stateâs backing of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudanâs devastating war.
The campaign – which had been circulating in Sudanese and diaspora circles for years – gained fresh momentum after the RSF seized the city of el-Fasher in North Darfur on 26 October.
HUMAN SECURITY EMERGENCY El-Fasher has fallen to RSF. HRL finds evidence of mass killings including door-to-door clearance operations and objects consistent with reported bodies on berm entrapping El-Fasher.#KeepEyesOnSudan
(October 28, 2025)
Reported massacre at hospital in Sudanâs El Fasher leaves 460 dead
Horrific stories of mass-atrocities committed by the RSF militia continue to emerge, along with the tens of thousands of civilians who have fled the North Darfur city of El Fasher in Sudan.
Risk of large-scale atrocities in Sudanâs El Fasher grows âby the dayâ
The agency has received reports of summary executions of civilians trying to escape what was the last Sudanese military government stronghold of El Fasher â with indications of ethnic motivations for killings â and of former combatants who have put down their weapons, which is prohibited under humanitarian law.
âThe risk of further large-scale, ethnically motivated violations and atrocities in El Fasher is mounting by the day,â warned UN human rights chief Volker TĂŒrk.
âUrgent and concrete action needs to be taken to ensure the protection of civilians in El Fasher and safe passage for those trying to reach relative safety.â
BĂŒrgerkrieg im Sudan: Sorge um Hunderttausende in Al-Faschir
Das sudanesische Ărztenetzwerk teilte mit, RSF-KĂ€mpfer hĂ€tten nach ihrem Einmarsch in Al-Faschir am Sonntag Dutzende Zivilisten getötet und KrankenhĂ€user und andere Gesundheitseinrichtungen geplĂŒndert.
Das Darfur-Netzwerk fĂŒr Menschenrechte berichtete von mehr als 1.000 teilweise willkĂŒrlichen Festnahmen.
Sudanâs RSF storms el-Fasher after UAE shuts down talks on city
However, sources told Middle East Eye that the UAE, which is the RSFâs most significant patron, refused to address the situation in el-Fasher, which has been under siege for over 500 days.
Fears for civilians trapped in Sudan‘s El-Fasher as RSF advances
The Rapid Support Forces claimed to have captured the city on Sunday, the last state capital in Darfur yet to fall to the paramilitaries.