“RSF and allied Militias have committed Genocide,” U.S. tells UN

The United Nations Security Council has expressed deep alarm over escalating violence and atrocities in and around El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, warning that the intensifying conflict risks triggering mass atrocities and worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis.

In a press statement issued by Council President Vassily A. Nebenzia of the Russian Federation, members condemned what they described as a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) assault on the city, saying it has had a “devastating impact on the civilian population.” They reminded the paramilitary group of Security Council Resolution 2736 (2024), which demands that the RSF lift its siege on El Fasher and immediately cease hostilities.

Council members cautioned that deteriorating conditions could accelerate “hunger and extreme food insecurity,” urging the RSF to comply with the resolution without delay.

The statement denounced reports of grave abuses against civilians, including “summary executions and arbitrary detentions,” and pointed to growing fears of ethnically targeted violence. Members also called on all sides to respect international humanitarian law, protect civilians, and honor commitments under the Jeddah Declaration.

During the security council meeting on the situation of Sudan, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Tom fletcher, warned that El Fasher had descended into a “darker hell,” citing reports of widespread executions. He added: “Women and girls are being raped. People are being mutilated and killed with utter impunity.”

Speaking on behalf of the A3+ (Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone, and Somalia), Algeria’s representative said, “The scenario we all feared and worked to prevent has now become a horrifying reality. RSF advances in Sudan, particularly in North Darfur and Kordofan, have unleashed an avalanche of brutality against innocent civilians.”

Denmark’s representative criticized global inaction: “The crisis of the Sudanese people has been met with silence, silence from the international community and silence from this Council.”

The United States representative described the situation as “both tragic and appalling,” adding: “We have said this before and we will say it again — the RSF and allied militias have committed genocide.”

Sudan’s representative stated that the government would not engage with “a genocidal terrorist group unless it lays down its weapons.”

The United Arab Emirates — which Sudan has accused of supporting RSF, and for which multiple major media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Middle East Eye, have reported credible evidence of military and financial assistance to the RSF — has stated that “the only viable solution lies in a genuine transitional process leading to an independent civilian-led government that is not controlled by either warring faction.”

The renewed alarm comes after the RSF captured El Fasher on Monday. Since then, harrowing reports have emerged of widespread killing and attacks on healthcare facilities — including the killing of more than 450 patients at the Saudi Maternity Hospital. The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was “appalled and deeply shocked” by the reports.

The conflict in Sudan, now in its second year, has displaced more than 10 million people, creating what the UN describes as the world’s largest displacement crisis — with fears growing that El Fasher could become the site of one of the conflict’s deadliest chapters.