The Guardian: RSF Used a “Starvation Strategy” in North Darfur
An investigation published by the British newspaper The Guardian described aerial attacks carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) using drones on farmers’ agricultural fields in Darfur as a “starvation strategy.”
The newspaper published satellite images showing RSF drones carrying out systematic attacks on farmland managed by farmers in North Darfur.
Experts cited by The Guardian said that aerial images collected from parts of the Darfur region could potentially be used as evidence in international courts.
According to the investigation, which relied on satellite imagery and detailed technical analysis, experts confirmed that sensor and satellite data reveal that the targeted attacks on agricultural communities by RSF forces were directly intended to prevent villages from producing food.
Researchers at Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) identified about 41 farming communities in the region that were attacked between March and June 2024. They concluded that the attacks were part of a deliberate plan to destroy the local food supply chain ahead of the siege of the nearby city of El Fasher, which began in late April 2024 and ended 18 months later in October 2025.
By September 2024, villages that had endured decades of tension were abandoned, and agricultural activity came to a complete halt. Satellite imagery showed dense growth of wild vegetation covering abandoned homes and farmland that was no longer cultivated.
Experts interviewed by The Guardian said the tactics used against farmers suggest that the RSF committed a war crime by using starvation as a weapon of war against populations already suffering from high levels of hunger, shortly before famine was officially declared in the region.
Legal experts in a new analysis said there is strong evidence that RSF forces committed a war crime by depriving villagers in North Darfur of the means to produce food, calling for HRL findings to be used as evidence in international courts.
The Guardian added that the destruction of villages, agricultural equipment, and infrastructure provides compelling evidence of a “famine strategy” against populations already suffering severe food insecurity due to the war, according to Tom Dannenbaum, a professor at Stanford Law School and a leading expert on the use of starvation as a weapon of war.
Dannenbaum, who co-authored the analysis with Yale law professor Oona Hathaway, said:
“People were already on the brink of famine, and the essential means of their survival were destroyed.”
The two researchers believe the HRL study represents a breakthrough in proving how famine strategies can be imposed using remote-sensing technologies, with potential applications for investigating similar crimes in Gaza and Ethiopia.
Hathaway told the British newspaper:
“It demonstrates the extraordinary cruelty and the real horrors people face. The report provides a unique level of detailed analysis over time, precisely documenting what was attacked, going beyond the general knowledge of fighting. This quality of evidence could be presented before criminal courts.”
