The International Criminal Court (ICC) has warned that mass killings, rape and other atrocities reportedly taking place in El-Fasher, Sudan, if verified, could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The alleged crimes, attributed to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), form part of a wider pattern of violence that has devastated the Darfur region since the conflict erupted in April 2023.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor said it recalls that, under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1593 of 2005, the Court retains jurisdiction over crimes committed in Darfur. The resolution originally referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC following atrocities committed during the early 2000s conflict that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.
“The Office is investigating crimes allegedly committed in Darfur since the outbreak of hostilities in April 2023,” the ICC said in a statement.
“As reflected in the most recent report to the UN Security Council, the Office is working intensively, including through repeated field deployments, deepened engagement with victims’ groups and civil society, and enhanced cooperation with national authorities and international organisations.
“Within the ongoing investigation, the Office is taking immediate steps regarding the alleged crimes in El-Fasher to preserve and collect relevant evidence for its use in future prosecutions,” the statement added.
Fresh violence in Kordofan as civilian deaths mount
Meanwhile, the BBC has reported that at least 40 people were killed in a drone strike that hit a funeral gathering outside the army-held city of el-Obeid in North Kordofan state.
Officials and activists have blamed the RSF for the attack in al-Luweib village, where mourners had gathered under a tent on Monday, November 3. Many victims reportedly died before reaching hospitals in el-Obeid, a key strategic city linking Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, to the western region of Darfur.
Fighting has intensified across the oil-rich Kordofan region. According to humanitarian agencies, around 20,000 people fled to el-Obeid last week after RSF forces captured Bara town, located about 30 kilometres north of the city.
The BBC also reported that Bara fell around the same time as El-Fasher, which had been the army’s last major stronghold in Darfur. Since then, there have been credible reports of mass killings, sexual violence, abductions and widespread looting in El-Fasher by RSF fighters.
The United Nations has said it has also received reports of summary executions of civilians by RSF combatants in Bara, adding to growing evidence of systematic violations against non-combatants.
Context: A war with devastating human cost
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF escalated into full-scale war. The power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, has left tens of thousands dead and displaced more than 8 million people, according to the United Nations.
The ICC’s renewed engagement in Darfur follows earlier cases against key figures accused of war crimes during the 2003–2008 conflict, including former president Omar al-Bashir, who remains wanted by the Court. The ICC has urged all parties to the current conflict to ensure accountability and to facilitate access for investigators documenting violations.
