The United Nations’ independent fact-finding mission on Sudan said Thursday that the paramilitary siege and takeover of el-Fasher showed hallmarks of genocide.
Its investigation concluded that the Rapid Support Forces' (RSF) seizure of the Darfur city last October had inflicted "three days of absolute horror," and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
"The scale, coordination and public endorsement of the operation by senior RSF leadership demonstrate that the crimes committed in and around el-Fasher were not random excesses of war," said the mission's chairman Mohamad Chande Othman.
"They formed part of a planned and organized operation that bears the defining characteristics of genocide," he added.
Since April 2023, the conflict between Sudan's army and the paramilitary RSF has killed tens of thousands and forced 11 million people to flee their homes. It has triggered what the U.N. calls one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
