Over 6,000 killed in RSF assault on Sudan’s el-Fasher: UN
UN report details mass killings, sexual violence and ethnically motivated attacks during three-day offensive in Darfur
EL-FASHER, Sudan (MNTV) — More than 6,000 people were killed over three days in late October when Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias launched a final offensive to seize the city of el-Fasher in the Darfur region, the United Nations said Friday.
A 29-page report by the U.N. Human Rights Office said the assault involved widespread atrocities that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to the report, at least 4,400 people were killed inside el-Fasher between Oct. 25 and Oct. 27, while more than 1,600 others were killed as they attempted to flee the city. The U.N. said the actual toll is likely significantly higher.
The RSF and allied Arab militias overran el-Fasher on Oct. 26 after an 18-month siege, capturing the Sudanese army’s last remaining stronghold in Darfur.
The report documents mass killings, summary executions, sexual violence, abductions for ransom, torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances. In many cases, the attacks were described as ethnically motivated, targeting members of the Zaghawa non-Arab community.
In one incident, RSF fighters allegedly opened fire with heavy weapons on civilians sheltering at a university dormitory, killing hundreds. In another case, around 600 people, including children, were reportedly executed while taking refuge in university facilities.
The U.N. also cited the killing of at least 460 people when RSF forces stormed the Saudi Maternity Hospital on Oct. 28, according to figures from the World Health Organization. Additional casualties were reported in shelling and drone attacks on the Abu Shouk displacement camp.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that RSF forces and allied militias committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, warning that persistent impunity continues to fuel cycles of violence.
The RSF did not respond to requests for comment. Its leader, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has previously acknowledged abuses by his fighters but disputed the scale of atrocities.
Sudan has been gripped by war since April 2023, when a power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese military escalated into nationwide fighting, creating what aid agencies describe as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
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