Amnesty International: ‘RSF committing crimes against humanity, ethnic cleanising in North Darfur’

Amnesty International has accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing crimes against humanity and carrying out acts of ethnic cleansing during military operations in El Fasher, North Darfur, and calls for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan and the deployment of an independent international force to protect civilians. ‘What has happened in El Fasher is a stain on the conscience of humanity,” says Agnès Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International.

In a comprehensive report entitled A City Under Siege, Children in the Line of Fire, the organisation says its findings are based on 247 field interviews with 208 survivors of alleged violations – 169 adults and 39 children – as well as eyewitnesses and other sources, providing what it describes as a broad evidential basis for its conclusions.

The report also draws on an analysis of open-source material, including 89 verified videos, satellite imagery and other field evidence covering the period from the beginning of 2024 to October 2025.

Siege deepens humanitarian crisis

According to Amnesty International, the RSF launches repeated attacks on villages and displacement camps around El Fasher while imposing what it describes as a suffocating siege by restricting the entry of food, medicines and humanitarian aid.

The organisation says the blockade worsens an already severe humanitarian crisis and pushes large parts of the area towards famine.

It says that, in some cases, civilians are forced to rely on ambaz as a staple food because supply chains have collapsed, while thousands of children are deprived of adequate nutrition and basic healthcare.

Report documents widespread abuses

The report documents what Amnesty says are multiple patterns of abuse, including deliberate killings, torture, rape, sexual slavery, arbitrary detention, forced displacement and the recruitment of children.

It also examines identity-based violence in some areas, saying there are indications that specific ethnic communities are deliberately targeted.

‘What has happened in El Fasher is a stain on the conscience of humanity…’ — Agnès Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary-general, says the war in Sudan has become “a war on civilians”.

“What has happened in El Fasher is a stain on the conscience of humanity,” she says, adding that children are among those most severely affected and, in some cases, are directly targeted during attacks.

Survivors describe killings and attacks on hospitals

According to the report, Amnesty interviews dozens of survivors who describe summary executions, torture and detention in harsh conditions.

The organisation also documents indiscriminate shooting as civilians attempt to flee the city, as well as casualties inside hospitals and other medical facilities.

Among the incidents highlighted are attacks near the earthen embankment north-west of El Fasher, where civilians trying to escape are reportedly killed.

Survivors tell Amnesty they witness bodies lying scattered across the area and describe what they say are summary executions.

Sexual violence and child recruitment

The report says sexual violence is used extensively, documenting cases of individual and gang rape, as well as the abduction of girls who are allegedly held in what it describes as degrading and cruel conditions.

Amnesty also documents the recruitment of children into the RSF, saying some are abducted during attacks while others are forced to perform support or combat roles, in what it describes as a clear violation of international humanitarian law.

The organisation further reports attacks on medical facilities, including hospitals in El Fasher, killings inside health facilities and the detention of civilians in conditions characterised by inadequate food and water, poor ventilation and severe overcrowding.

It also documents cases in which civilians are allegedly held for extended periods while ransoms are demanded, describing the practice as systematic and recurring.

Accountability

Amnesty International urges the international community to halt the flow of weapons to all parties to the conflict, extend the existing arms embargo to the whole of Sudan rather than limiting it to Darfur, and strengthen support for the International Criminal Court and other international investigative mechanisms.

Callamard says the international response remains inadequate and warns that continued impunity will lead to further abuses against civilians, particularly children and displaced people.

The report concludes by calling for the deployment of a neutral, well-equipped international force to protect civilians, the opening of safe humanitarian corridors and the prosecution of those responsible for the violations documented in its findings.

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