Sudan's Prime Minister Kamil Idris has called for atrocities committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El-Fasher to be tried in international courts, condemning the international community for doing "too little" and demanding actions over words. This comes after the RSF seized the city on October 26, following an 18-month siege, dislodging the army's last stronghold in the Darfur region.
In an interview, Prime Minister Kamil Idris stated, "Every crime needs to be prosecuted in the courts, including at the international level". He urged all United Nations member states to officially designate the RSF as a terrorist organization. However, he firmly rejected the idea of deploying foreign troops or UN peacekeeping missions to Sudan, stating that such a move would be "illegal," undermine the country's sovereignty, and prove "counterproductive".
Since the fall of El-Fasher, survivors and international organizations have reported widespread atrocities. The Sudanese government reports at least 2,000 people were killed, though witnesses fear the true number is much higher. Human Rights Watch has verified videos showing RSF fighters executing apparent civilians and taunting and killing severely injured people. Survivors have given firsthand accounts of RSF fighters going house-to-house, killing civilians, and committing sexual assaults. One survivor described the streets as "full of dead people" and heard a fighter yell, "Kill them all, leave no one alive".
The fall of El-Fasher has sparked significant international action. The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it is taking immediate steps to preserve evidence of possible war crimes in El-Fasher, stating the alleged atrocities "may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity". A coalition of human rights organizations has appealed for the UN Human Rights Council to convene a special session on the situation, urging the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan to prepare an urgent flash report to document the crimes. The United States had previously determined that the RSF has committed genocide in Sudan.
The crisis in El-Fasher is part of the larger civil war that began in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF. The RSF, descended from the Janjaweed militias accused of genocide in Darfur two decades ago, has now gained full control over all five state capitals in Darfur. This has effectively split Sudan along an east-west axis, with the paramilitaries establishing a self-declared rival government in Darfur and raising fears of another partition of the country.