More than 1000 civilians killed in Sudan’s Darfur: UN
More than 1,000 civilians were killed when a Sudanese paramilitary group seized a famine-stricken displacement camp in Sudan’s Darfur in April, according to a report by the UN Human Rights Office; about a third of them were summarily executed.
For months before the April 11-13 attack, Rapid Support Forces blocked food and supplies from entering the Zamzam camp, home to nearly half a million people displaced by civil war in Sudan’s western Darfur region, according to a UN report released Thursday.
According to the UN report, during the takeover the RSF carried out attacks against civilians, and survivors reported widespread murder, rape, torture, and kidnappings; At least 319 people were executed while in the camp or trying to escape.
“Such intentional killing of civilians or non-combatants may constitute a war crime, such as murder,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement accompanying the 18-page report. he said.
The findings are based on interviews conducted in July 2025 with 155 survivors and witnesses who had fled to Chad.
The report stated that one of them, eight people hiding in a room in the camp, was killed by RSF fighters who stuck their rifles through the window and fired at the group.
RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The group has previously denied harming civilians and said it would hold its forces accountable for any violations.
The attack in April was a precursor to an attack on the northern city of Al-Fashir in late October, in which the RSF was accused of summarily executing and kidnapping thousands of people. The names of most of those thought to live in the city are unknown.
On Tuesday, the U.N. human rights office also said drones had killed more than 100 civilians in Sudan’s Kordofan region this month.
Meanwhile, the United States, Britain and Norway called on Sudan’s leaders on Thursday to “urgently reverse course” and urged all parties to halt armed attacks and return to a ceasefire, saying a return to even higher levels of violence would destabilize the region.
“The transitional government should end airstrikes against its own citizens, release political prisoners, use public revenue to pay public sector workers, and fund health, education and other basic services for its citizens,” the countries said in a joint statement.
“South Sudan’s leaders must stop the current conflict and focus on restoring the trust of its people and the international community through concrete actions.
“If they do this, they will attract the support, investment and respect of the world.
“That’s enough.”
