Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters are committing war crimes in the Darfur town of el-Fasher, Amnesty International alleged in a report published on Tuesday, hours after the RSF declared it would immediately enter a three-month humanitarian truce “in response to international efforts” led by United States President Donald Trump.
Amnesty said it collected testimonies from 28 survivors describing atrocities in el-Fasher, including summary executions of unarmed men and the rape of girls and women. “This persistent, widespread violence against civilians constitutes war crimes and may also constitute other crimes under international law,” Amnesty chief Agnes Callamard said, adding that those responsible must be held accountable.
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF erupted into open fighting in Khartoum and other areas. The war in Darfur pits the regular forces of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the RSF, led by his former ally Mohamed Daglo. At the end of October the RSF seized el-Fasher, the last major city in Darfur outside their control.
The report includes accounts such as a woman who said she and her 14-year-old daughter were raped by RSF fighters as they fled el-Fasher; the daughter later fell ill and died in a clinic in the refugee town of Tawila. Another survivor said he saw RSF forces shooting people as they tried to escape. “The RSF were killing people as if they were flies. It was a massacre. None of the people killed that I have seen were armed soldiers,” he told Amnesty.
United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher last week described el-Fasher as a “crime scene” and said perpetrators must face justice. Mediation efforts have so far failed, with both sides seeking military advantage before talks. On Sunday, Burhan rejected a US truce proposal from the Quad mediators — the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates — calling it the “worst yet” and unacceptable, accusing the UAE of bias for its alleged support to the RSF. The UAE denies involvement in the war and on Monday accused Burhan of “consistently obstructive behaviour.”