The UN Human Rights Council has accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias of committing crimes against humanity and widespread violations amounting to war crimes since the outbreak of conflict in Sudan in April 2023.
According to the Council’s resolution, the RSF carried out coordinated and large-scale attacks against civilians based on ethnic and gender identity, involving killings, torture, rape, systematic sexual violence, forced displacement, sexual slavery, looting of aid, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war.
The Council held the RSF directly responsible for major assaults on Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps in North Darfur, which displaced over 400,000 people and left tens of thousands trapped in dire humanitarian conditions.
It warned that these violations represent a “dangerous escalation that risks amounting to genocide,” calling for an immediate halt to attacks and for perpetrators to be brought to international justice.
The Council also announced an extension of the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan for another year to continue investigating and reporting on these abuses.
