The International Criminal Court has warned that atrocities committed in Sudan’s Darfur region, particularly in the recently captured city of El-Fasher, could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In a statement on Monday, the ICC prosecutor’s office said it was “profoundly alarmed” by reports of mass killings, rapes, looting, and other abuses following the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) seizure of El-Fasher on October 26.
“These atrocities are part of a broader pattern of violence that has afflicted the entire Darfur region since April 2023,” the office said. “Such acts, if substantiated, may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute.”
The RSF, which emerged from the Janjaweed militias accused of genocide two decades ago, took control of El-Fasher after an 18-month siege marked by bombardment and starvation. The United Nations estimates that more than 65,000 people have fled the city since its fall, with about 5,000 reaching the nearby town of Tawila, while tens of thousands remain trapped.
Before the assault, El-Fasher was home to around 260,000 people. Since its capture, rights groups and aid agencies have documented reports of summary executions, sexual violence, and attacks on humanitarian workers in areas where communication remains largely cut off.
The ICC recalled its recent conviction of Janjaweed commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur between 2003 and 2004. “That verdict should serve as a reminder that there will be accountability for such atrocious crimes,” the court said.
The ICC maintains jurisdiction over crimes committed in Darfur and urged victims and witnesses to submit evidence through its secure channels.
Meanwhile, violence has continued to spread eastward. The UN said more than 36,000 civilians fled towns in the Kordofan region between October 26 and 31 as the RSF and Sudanese army battled for control of El-Obeid, a key transport and military hub.
UN officials have warned that the RSF’s advance into Kordofan is marked by the same “large-scale atrocities” and “ethnically motivated reprisals” seen in Darfur.
Sudan’s civil war, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 12 million people, creating what the UN calls the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.