Addressing the United Nations Security Council remotely from The Hague, the International Criminal Court’s deputy prosecutor, Nazhat Shameem Khan, presented findings from the Office of the Prosecutor indicating that the Rapid Support Forces oversaw what she characterized as an organized and calculated campaign of atrocities during the capture of el-Fasher in North Darfur in late October, according to the ICC’s latest report on Darfur delivered on Monday. Khan indicated that investigators are intensifying efforts to establish individual criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in el-Fasher in 2025 and in el-Geneina, West Darfur, in 2023, citing evidence gathered during the current reporting period, including video, audio, and satellite data. She conveyed to Council members that the fall of el-Fasher, following an approximately 18-month siege by the RSF, was accompanied by severe abuses targeting non-Arab communities, including rape, arbitrary detention, executions, and the creation of mass graves, and that the evidence suggested these acts were carried out on a massive scale as a means of asserting control. Khan further stated that video material reviewed by her office showed a recurring pattern of abuses similar to previous allegations against the RSF, including footage depicting celebratory behavior following executions and the desecration of bodies, while satellite imagery documented incidents of mass killing and subsequent attempts to conceal crimes.
Gender-Based Crimes, Eyewitness Accounts, and Sanctions Shape ICC Darfur Inquiry
Khan also informed the Council that the prosecutor’s office has made significant progress in investigating the 2023 massacres in el-Geneina, where thousands of civilians were killed, and emphasized that gender-based crimes are a priority within the ICC’s investigative strategy, noting that sexual violence has been documented as a tool of war in Darfur. She explained that the office is engaging affected communities and working with United Nations partners to document sexual and gender-based crimes, while expanding culturally informed and gender-sensitive outreach to address stigma and fear of reprisals that hinder reporting. Reporting by Middle East Eye cited multiple eyewitnesses who described RSF fighters killing civilians attempting to flee el-Fasher and conducting door-to-door attacks during the October takeover, while UN Sudan chief Denise Brown also described el-Fasher as a crime scene after recent visits and warned of a continuing pattern of atrocities. Khan added that the ICC is also documenting reports of alleged Rome Statute crimes by the Sudanese armed forces in Darfur and stressed that all parties to the conflict must comply with international law and avoid targeting civilians. The briefing was delivered virtually due to U.S. sanctions imposed on Khan and fellow deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang in August, measures that include travel bans and asset freezes; the Office of the Prosecutor told Middle East Eye that Khan was denied a U.S. visa to address this session, despite previous exceptions. The conflict in Sudan, ongoing since April 2023, has resulted in thousands of deaths, the displacement of nearly 13 million people, and acute food insecurity affecting more than 40 percent of the population, according to United Nations assessments.