UN calls for targeted sanctions amid Sudan’s devastating war
During a major ground offensive on Zamzam from April 11-13, the RSF and its allies killed between 300 and 1,500 people, mostly women and children.
A United Nations-backed mission has urged targeted sanctions and an expansion of the International Criminal Court’s authority to cover all of Sudan, accusing the country’s warring parties of widespread war crimes.
The call comes amid a conflict that has left hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced and entire communities devastated.
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The report, Sudan: A War of Atrocities, by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, recommends international action against individuals and groups suspected of committing serious crimes.
It found both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) responsible for war crimes, while actions by the RSF may also amount to crimes against humanity, including extermination and persecution.
The findings highlight a relentless campaign of violence in North Darfur’s El Fasher since May 2024, when the RSF launched a siege.
Displacement camps, sheltering hundreds of thousands, were deliberately targeted. The RSF repeatedly shelled the Abu Shouk camp, killing over 300 people, and attacked the Zamzam camp in February and April 2025.
During a major ground offensive on Zamzam from April 11-13, the RSF and its allies killed between 300 and 1,500 people, mostly women and children.
“They claimed they only wanted to fight soldiers, but they punished the whole community,” one witness told the mission. “It felt like they wanted to remove us because of who we are.”
The report notes that the RSF and its allies carried out large-scale, coordinated attacks against non-Arab communities. Civilians trying to flee were also targeted; in January 2025, the RSF opened fire on a convoy escaping to Chad, killing at least 30 people.
Healthcare services have nearly collapsed, with both sides attacking medical facilities. The RSF repeatedly struck El Fasher’s Al Janoubi Hospital and Al-Saudi Maternal Teaching Hospital, forcing closures. An SAF airstrike near a pediatric hospital killed two children and a caregiver.
Markets and humanitarian operations have also been hit. In March 2025, an SAF airstrike on Tora market killed and injured hundreds, further restricting access to food.
The mission said the RSF’s siege tactics, including blocking aid and targeting civilians, amount to using starvation as a method of warfare.
The fact-finding mission, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, reported that repeated requests to visit Sudan and meet officials from both the government and the RSF were ignored.
Its findings are based on 257 interviews conducted between October 2024 and July 2025, as well as verified videos and other evidence.
The report concludes that the RSF has committed war crimes, including murder, hostage-taking, torture, rape, and sexual slavery, which also qualify as crimes against humanity.
The SAF, meanwhile, carried out war crimes such as attacks on civilians, indiscriminate airstrikes, and executions without judicial guarantees.
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