ICC Warns of Worsening Atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur Region
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sounded the alarm over escalating atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region, describing the area as an epicentre of “profound suffering.”
Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan, briefing the United Nations Security Council on Monday, said civilians are enduring collective torture amid the widening war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict, which erupted in April 2023, has devastated communities across the country and intensified in Darfur.
Khan highlighted the fall of al Fasher to RSF forces, noting it was accompanied by what she called an “organised, calculated campaign” of violence, particularly targeting non Arab communities. She listed widespread crimes including rape, arbitrary detention, executions, and the discovery of mass graves. Disturbingly, she said many of these acts have been filmed and celebrated by perpetrators.
“This criminality is being repeated in town after town in Darfur,” Khan warned. “It will continue until this conflict, and the sense of impunity that fuels it, are stopped.” She stressed that the ICC’s assessment is that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in al Fasher.
The deputy prosecutor urged collective action, insisting that the scale of suffering “can only be addressed if we work together.” She called on Sudan’s government to act decisively to arrest individuals subject to ICC warrants who remain at large in the country.
Sudan’s ambassador to the UN, Ammar Mohammed Mahmoud, also addressed the Council, blaming external actors for enabling the atrocities. He alleged that the RSF’s campaign “would not have occurred without outside assistance,” pointing to what he described as military, financial, political, logistical, and media support from a foreign state. Mahmoud urged the ICC to extend its investigations to all those proven to have supported or colluded with the militia.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned of foreign involvement on both sides of Sudan’s civil war. A report issued in September 2025 by the UN Human Rights Council accused both the Sudanese military and the RSF of committing war crimes and serious human rights violations.
As the conflict deepens, international observers fear Darfur could face a humanitarian catastrophe unless accountability is enforced and foreign interference curbed.
