LIVE: UN Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan

RSF siege cut essential supplies

From mid-2024, RSF encircled Al-Fashir with 31 kilometers of trenches and burns, blocking food, water, and medical aid, forcing civilians to survive on animal feed and tree leaves while healthcare systems collapsed.

Mass executions at medical facilities

During the October 25-26 takeover, RSF fighters executed over 460 people at El Saudi hospital alone, going ward-to-word to kill patients, doctors, and family members, while converting the former children's hospital into an execution site.

Systematic sexual violence as weapon of war

Women and girls aged 7-17 from non-Arab communities, particularly the Zaghawa, were subjected to mass rape, gang rape, and sexual slavery using dehumanizing language, deliberately employed to terrorize and destroy community social fabric.

Mass displacement and family separation

An estimated 100,000 people fled in late October alone, with hundreds of children arriving in safer areas unaccompanied after being separated from parents during chaotic flight from RSF pursuers.

Genocide determination against protected groups

The mission concluded RSF committed genocide against the Zaghawa and Fur ethnic groups, finding three underlying acts: killings, causing serious bodily and mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction.

Genocidal intent established

The scale, coordination, and pattern of ethnic targeting—including statements by perpetrators expressing intent to eliminate these communities—demonstrate the attacks were part of a planned operation executed through an established command structure.

Perpetrators identified

The mission compiled confidential dossiers on commanders responsible for atrocities, publicly identifying one notorious individual while preparing evidence for international judicial mechanisms including the International Criminal Court.

Immediate international protection force

The mission urgently recommends deploying an international protection force to safeguard civilians in Al-Fashir and Darfur, noting the serious and ongoing risk of further genocidal violence.

Comprehensive arms embargo and sanctions

States must enforce and expand the arms embargo to cover all of Sudan, prevent transfers of weapons and financial support to implicated parties, and impose targeted sanctions against perpetrators and enablers.

Unrestricted humanitarian access

Humanitarian corridors must be secured immediately to allow food, medical supplies, and investigative bodies into Al-Fashir, while guaranteeing civilians' freedom of movement to escape the besieged city.

Accountability through ICC cooperation

Full cooperation with the International Criminal Court is essential to end impunity, alongside establishing additional judicial avenues capable of prosecuting atrocity crimes and preserving evidence for future trials.