Amnesty says RSF committed ethnic cleansing in Sudan’s el-Fasher

Lead

Amnesty International has accused Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during their attack on el-Fasher city between 2024 and 2025, according to a report released on Wednesday. The allegations, carried by multiple news outlets, are based on interviews with 247 people who experienced or witnessed conflict-related abuses, and detail a campaign of systematic violence against civilians in North Darfur.

Coverage Comparison

The story was reported by several international outlets, including Africa News, Al Jazeera, South China Morning Post, and The Hindu — World. While most outlets presented the core allegation that the RSF committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, there were slight discrepancies in the number of interviews cited. Africa News, South China Morning Post, and The Hindu — World reported 247 interviews, while Al Jazeera reported 246. The reason for this discrepancy was not explained in the available reports.

Key Claims

The Amnesty International report, titled "City Under Siege, Children Under Fire: Rapid Support Forces' Crimes Against Humanity in North Darfur," documents widespread abuses against civilians in and around el-Fasher between early 2024 and October 2025. According to the report, the RSF committed murder, forcible transfer, imprisonment, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enslavement, extermination, and persecution.

The RSF besieged el-Fasher from May 2024 to October 2025, restricting the entry of food and humanitarian aid while shelling the city almost daily, as reported by Al Jazeera and The Hindu — World.

Amnesty's investigation, conducted over eight months between August 2025 and April 2026, was based on interviews with 247 people, including 208 survivors (169 adults and 39 children). The organization also verified 89 videos and analyzed satellite imagery from North Darfur, according to The Hindu — World.

The report states that the RSF systematically attacked villages, towns, and displacement camps surrounding el-Fasher, targeting civilians, looting property, and burning civilian infrastructure. Many of the affected communities were predominantly inhabited by the Zaghawa people, an ethnic group in western Darfur, as reported by multiple outlets.

Amnesty identified three RSF commanders allegedly responsible for serious violations of international law, according to The Hindu — World.

In a statement, Amnesty's chief, Agnes Callamard, said the situation in el-Fasher is a "war on civilians" and a "stain on the conscience of humanity." She also said, "They exterminated, they persecuted on the basis of ethnicity and gender. They ethnically cleansed," and warned that the RSF would "repeat those crimes again and again until they are stopped."

A UN independent fact-finding mission concluded in February that the 2025 assault on el-Fasher bore the "hallmarks of genocide," a finding referenced by multiple outlets.

The war in Sudan, which began in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, according to the United Nations.