Survivors who fled El Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur have given harrowing accounts of widespread killings, beatings, rape and sexual assault committed by Rapid Support Forces fighters during the city’s capture. Amnesty International interviewed 28 survivors who escaped to Tawila and Tina after the RSF surrounded El Fasher on 26 October. Many described witnessing groups of unarmed men being executed, civilians being taken hostage for ransom, and hundreds of bodies left scattered across streets and main roads. Women recounted brutal sexual violence against themselves and their daughters. These firsthand testimonies represent some of the first detailed accounts from those who survived the fall of the city.
Amnesty International said the scale and severity of violence against civilians constitute war crimes and may amount to other international crimes. The organization stressed that these atrocities were enabled by ongoing support to the RSF from the United Arab Emirates. It called on the international community and the UN Security Council to demand an end to that support, and urged strengthened resources for the UN Human Rights Council’s Sudan Fact-Finding Mission to investigate abuses across the country. Amnesty also emphasized the need to expand the ICC referral from Darfur to the rest of Sudan and to enforce and widen the arms embargo to halt the flow of weapons to all parties involved.
Survivor testimonies reveal the indiscriminate and targeted killings of civilians attempting to flee. Several men described being forced to lie on the ground before RSF fighters opened fire, killing most of those present. Others survived only by pretending to be dead. Some noted that the fighters appeared to take pleasure in the violence, laughing as they killed older, injured men who were unable to climb into RSF vehicles. Hostage-taking for ransom was also reported, with captives’ families pressured to pay large sums under threats of execution.
Women and girls recounted devastating sexual violence during their attempts to escape. Survivors spoke of being assaulted in front of their children, while others described daughters as young as 12 and 14 being raped. Some victims later died from the trauma and health complications following the assaults. These accounts reflect a broader pattern of sexual violence previously documented across RSF-controlled areas.
The conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, which erupted in April 2023, has caused mass displacement and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Amnesty International has previously documented ethnically targeted attacks and widespread violations by the RSF and allied militias. The organization said the latest testimonies from El Fasher highlight the urgent need for accountability, intensified diplomacy, and stronger protection for civilians as violence escalates across Sudan.
