Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned of large-scale atrocities and targeted ethnic violence in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, as clashes intensify between the army and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The RSF, a powerful paramilitary group descended from the notorious Janjaweed militia, has tightened its grip on Darfur since the army lost control of the capital, Khartoum, in March.
Darfur has long been the epicentre of conflict in Sudan, where the Janjaweed were accused of committing genocide in the early 2000s.
In a report released on Thursday, MSF said it had documented harrowing accounts from civilians and patients between May 2024 and May 2025, warning of deliberate attacks on non-Arab ethnic communities.
The paramilitaries have laid siege to El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur and the army’s last remaining stronghold in the region, since May 2024.
MSF has reported increasing threats of an all-out assault on the city, which shelters hundreds of thousands of people, most of whom lack access to food, clean water, or medical treatment.
The MSF report highlighted “systematic violence,” including mass killings, sexual assault, looting, abductions, starvation, and attacks on both civilians and healthcare facilities.
Eyewitnesses said RSF fighters made chilling comments about plans to “clean El-Fasher” of non-Arab ethnic groups, particularly the Zaghawa people, fuelling fears of a repeat of last year’s massacre of the Masalit community in West Darfur.
The charity was forced to suspend its operations in El-Fasher and the nearby Zamzam displacement camp earlier this year following repeated attacks.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed hope for a ceasefire deal to allow urgent humanitarian access to the besieged city.
Sudan’s conflict, now in its third year, has devastated the country. Over 13 million people have been displaced and tens of thousands killed, with the United Nations warning of the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.
More than one million people in North Darfur alone are facing imminent famine, according to UN data. The country remains effectively divided, with the army controlling the east, centre, and north, while the RSF dominates nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south.
