Amnesty says RSF committed ethnic cleansing in Sudan

The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during their attack on al-Fashir city between 2024 and 2025, Amnesty International alleged Wednesday.

Sudan has been mired since April 2023 in a brutal war between the army and the RSF, which has killed tens of thousands and forced millions to flee, according to the United Nations.

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Both sides have been accused of atrocities, with a UN independent fact-finding mission in February concluding that the 2025 assault on al-Fashir bore the “hallmarks of genocide.”

Amnesty’s wide-ranging report found that the RSF “committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during its campaign to seize al-Fashir.”

The NGO interviewed 247 victims or witnesses between early 2024 and October 2025 in North Darfur.

It said the RSF systematically attacked settlements around al-Fashir which housed the Zaghawa people, an ethnic group in western Darfur.

The report alleged widespread and deliberate violence against children including killing, abductions, forced recruitment, and rape.

“It is a stain on the conscience of humanity,” said Amnesty chief Agnes Callamard in a statement.

Speaking in Nairobi, she was blunt on the actions of the RSF: “They exterminated, they persecuted on the basis of ethnicity and gender. They ethnically cleansed.”

“The RSF will repeat those crimes again and again until they are stopped,” she warned.

‘Ethnic cleansing’

The report said that RSF fighters burned homes long after residents had fled, “suggesting an intent to render the areas uninhabitable,” consistent with “ethnic cleansing.”

During the final RSF offensive on al-Fashir in October 2025, Amnesty said “hundreds were executed, and many others were tortured or detained” as they attempted to flee.

The report also noted violations happened “repeatedly and on a large scale”, and suggested “those in positions of authority knew, or should have known, what was occurring, and failed to stop it or hold anyone accountable”.

Amnesty International – which stressed that its investigation into the incidents was ongoing – also said such acts “may be relevant to the crime of genocide.”

The international NGO urged an immediate ceasefire and deployment of an international force to protect civilians.

The report comes as the UN Human Rights Council held a debate over al-Obeid city in North Kordofan, where there are fears of an imminent RSF assault after weeks of intense attacks.

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