RSF Seizes El Fasher; Atrocities Prompt ICC Inquiry

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized El Fasher after an 18‑month siege, dislodging the army's last stronghold in Darfur and marking a darker phase of the two‑year war. Eyewitnesses, aid groups, satellite imagery and circulating videos report mass killings, summary executions, rape, abductions and pillage, with survivors likening the atrocities to Darfur’s earlier genocidal campaigns. Tens of thousands have fled (estimates roughly 62,000 to more than 70,000), but only a small fraction have reached nearby aid sites like Tawila and many remain trapped, unaccounted for or unable to reach assistance. Reported death tolls range from hundreds to potentially thousands, and communications blackouts, displacement and disease risk are deepening a severe humanitarian catastrophe. The International Criminal Court, the Red Cross, the UN and humanitarian groups say the acts may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity and are collecting evidence, while governments including Malaysia have demanded an immediate cessation of violence, protection of civilians and restored humanitarian access as aid delivery remains severely constrained.