The IHL Centre calls for urgent respect for international humanitarian law in El Fasher, North Darfur

The IHL Centre is deeply alarmed by mounting reports of large-scale violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) in El Fasher, North Darfur, following the city’s capture by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied armed groups on 27 October 2025, after more than 500 days of siege. Similar patterns of violence are emerging in the Kordofans. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) verified that more than 460 civilians, including women and infants, were killed in a massacre at the Saudi Maternity Hospital, Darfur’s main maternal-health facility, which had been sheltering displaced families. This incident forms part of a broader pattern of assaults on medical personnel and facilities across Sudan, amounting to at least 185 verified incidents since April 2023.  

Thousands of civilians have reportedly been killed by the RSF in recent weeks, many seemingly targeted along ethnic lines or perceived affiliations, with others captured, missing, or executed while fleeing. Survivors describe summary executions, sexual violence, looting, and mass displacement under siege-like conditions. Humanitarian workers have confirmed that civilians attempting to leave the city are being pursued and killed, and that entire groups have disappeared along main escape routes. 

IHL applies equally to all parties to the conflict, including RSF. state forces and armed non-state actors. All parties are expressly prohibited from targeting civilians or civilian objects, carrying out reprisals, attacking medical staff or facilities, committing sexual violence, and obstructing humanitarian relief. Acts such as murder, cruel treatment, collective punishment, and starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, constitute serious violations of IHL and may amount to war crimes. 

The Centre calls on the RSF and all parties to immediately cease attacks against civilians and humanitarian actors, and to ensure the protection of medical staff and facilities, as well as to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to all affected areas of Darfur. The Centre further urges States and international actors to take concrete measures to ensure compliance with IHL, including through sustained diplomatic engagement, accountability mechanisms, and the preservation of evidence, to uphold the protection of human life and access to justice for survivors.  

For any questions please contact info@ihlcentre.org. For our free, confidential IHL Advisory Service, see here.