UN Documents 6,000 Civilian Deaths in Three-Day Sudan Massacre
Khartoum, 15 February 2026
A United Nations report reveals that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces killed over 6,000 civilians during a brutal three-day assault on El Fasher in October 2025, marking one of the deadliest incidents since the civil war began in April 2023. The massacre included executions at a university dormitory and maternity hospital, with UN officials citing reasonable grounds for war crimes and crimes against humanity charges.
Escalating Violence Despite International Normalisation Efforts
The massacre in El Fasher represents a stark contradiction to Sudan’s recent attempts at international normalisation, as documented in previous reporting on the military government’s efforts to project stability following the reopening of Khartoum’s international airport on 25 January 2026 [alert! ‘referencing previous article context’]. While Sudan’s military junta has been praised by regional blocs like IGAD for its ‘National Initiative’ on 29 January, the RSF’s systematic killing of civilians demonstrates the profound disconnect between diplomatic gestures and ground realities [alert! ‘referencing previous article context’]. The UN Human Rights Office released its damning report on 14 February 2026, documenting that at least 4,400 people were killed inside El Fasher between 25-27 October 2025, with over 1,600 additional deaths occurring as people fled the RSF advance [1].
Systematic Atrocities Across Multiple Locations
The RSF’s assault on El Fasher revealed a pattern of deliberate civilian targeting across key infrastructure and vulnerable populations. On 26 October 2025, approximately 500 people were executed at the Rashid dormitory at El Fasher university, while around 600 people, including 50 children, were killed at other university facilities on the same day [1]. The violence extended to medical facilities, with 460 people killed when RSF forces stormed the Saudi Maternity hospital on 28 October 2025 [1]. Between 23-24 October 2025, about 300 people died in the Abu Shouk camp due to RSF shelling and drone attacks [1]. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated that sexual violence “was systematically used as a weapon of war,” with RSF fighters particularly targeting women and girls from the Zaghawa tribes [1].
International Response and War Crimes Allegations
Türk declared there were “reasonable grounds” that the RSF and allied Arab militias committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the El Fasher offensive [1]. The UN official emphasised that “the wanton violations that were perpetrated by the RSF and allied Arab militia in the final offensive on el-Fasher underscore that persistent impunity fuels continued cycles of violence” [1]. The International Criminal Court is investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan, while the Biden administration has formally accused the RSF of genocide [1]. These formal allegations coincide with documented evidence of thousands of people being held in at least 10 RSF-run detention centres in El Fasher, including facilities at the city’s Children Hospital [1].
Regional Military Operations and Cross-Border Activities
Satellite imagery released on 15 February 2026 by Al Jazeera’s digital investigations unit reveals continued RSF military operations from bases in southeastern Libya, near the Sudanese border [2]. The images, covering recent months up to 11 February 2026, show significant numbers of transport trucks and four-wheel drive vehicles, along with prepared areas for storage and logistical support [2]. Visual analysis identified vehicles at the Libyan site that matched those previously seen in attacks on displaced persons’ camps in Darfur, suggesting the facility serves as a supply base and repositioning point for operations inside Sudan [2]. In December 2025, the Sudanese army announced it had targeted an RSF military convoy in the same border region, claiming the destruction of over 50 combat vehicles and fuel and ammunition carriers [2]. These cross-border operations complicate the humanitarian crisis, as over 12 million people have been displaced since the conflict began in April 2023, with tens of thousands of civilians killed [3].