UN experts say Sudan’s RSF commanders ordered rape, killings in El Fasher
September 5, 2026 (NEW YORK) – Commanders from Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ordered fighters to rape women and encouraged the killing of civilians during their takeover of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, according to a United Nations experts report seen by Sudan Tribune.
The RSF captured El Fasher on Oct. 26, 2025, ending an 18-month ground siege that cut off food and medical supplies, destroyed basic infrastructure, and triggered intense urban combat with the Sudanese army and allied Joint Force factions.
In a report submitted to the UN Security Council, the UN Panel of Experts on the Sudan cited an RSF commander who confirmed that senior officers gave direct directives to carry out sexual violence against women and girls from non-Arab communities during the assault on the city.
The report said high-ranking commanders fostered a culture of impunity by giving explicit orders to kill civilians and commit rape.
The panel named several senior RSF figures as directly responsible for the siege and eventual fall of the city, placing RSF Deputy Commander Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo at the top of the command chain. Monitors verified that Dagalo was the highest-ranking officer on the ground during the capture of the army’s 6th Infantry Division headquarters.
Major General Al-Nour Ahmed Adam, known as “Al-Qubba,” was identified as a core member of the leadership, in direct contact with Dagalo, and issued operational orders during the street fighting.
Gedo Hamdan Ahmed, known as “Abu Nashuk,” who commanded the RSF El Fasher operational sector since June 2023, was ranked third in the command structure and was confirmed present during the storming of the military base.
The report also cited Brigadier General Ali Rizeigallah, known as “Al-Savana,” as a senior officer who directed attacks, fought on the front lines, and oversaw the recruitment of local and foreign fighters.
Both Al-Qubba and Al-Savana later defected to the Sudanese Armed Forces in April and May 2026, respectively, before moving to Khartoum under an amnesty granted by the army leadership.
Other commanders named in the findings include field commander Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed, known as “Al Zeir Salem,” who led assault units, and Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris Adam, known as “Abu Lulu,” whom investigators accused of carrying out summary executions of unarmed men trying to flee.
The panel monitors compliance with the arms embargo, targeted sanctions, and illicit financing networks in Darfur under UN Security Council resolutions dating back to 2005.
The Security Council is scheduled to review the findings on Sept. 10, ahead of a vote to renew the Sudan sanctions regime, which expires on Sept. 12. The expert panel’s mandate concludes on Oct. 12.
The report detailed severe civilian suffering during the prolonged blockade, noting that the RSF escalated heavy artillery shelling and drone strikes from August to October 2025. In the final push, one resident in the Daraja Oula district recounted seeing more than 70 corpses abandoned in the streets.
When defences collapsed on Oct. 26, thousands of civilians and retreating fighters attempted to flee west toward the outskirts. RSF units pursued fleeing crowds, leaving trails of dead men, women, and children along the western exit corridors.
While confirming total casualty numbers remains challenging due to communication blackouts, the experts said their findings aligned with UN human rights estimates that at least 4,400 people were killed inside El Fasher and another 1,600 were slain while attempting to escape.
Those figures follow an earlier UN human rights update in February 2026 that documented more than 6,000 deaths during the first 72 hours of the final RSF assault alone.
Following the capture of the city, RSF forces carried out systematic house-to-house searches in Daraja Oula, executing men and youths suspected of links to the military or allied groups, arbitrarily arresting residents, and looting private property.
Civilians attempting to reach the western settlement of Garni were intercepted at checkpoints along a 57-kilometre earthen berm constructed by the RSF to encircle the city. Fighters separated the men and boys from women, children, and the elderly, summarily shooting anyone who resisted.
One witness reported seeing fighters execute eight men at a checkpoint, while another recounted that her mother was shot dead after attempting to shield her daughters from abduction.
More than 4,000 detained men were held in open fields without shelter, where suspected opposition figures were tortured and several executed. Escapees later reported seeing hundreds of bodies with bullet wounds scattered along the route to Garni.
Investigators verified six major detention facilities across the city, including the Children’s Hospital, the Al Mena Al Bary transport site, Shala prison, the Al Manhal detention centre, and Zamzam IDP camp. Female detainees held at the medical facility and the Al Mena Al Bary site were subjected to sexual violence.
Paramilitary forces also set up clandestine detention sites in abandoned houses across El Fasher and nearby villages including Shagra, Korma, and Um Jalbakh, where torture resulted in hundreds of deaths. An estimated 6,000 detainees were subsequently transferred to Tagris prison in Nyala, South Darfur.
The panel found that the RSF and allied Arab militias operated a coordinated kidnapping-for-ransom network, demanding sums ranging from 1 million to 30 million Sudanese pounds, or roughly $300 to $10,000, for the release of captives.
Detainees whose families could not pay were beaten or killed, and abducted women were repeatedly raped while held in captivity. Investigators tracked ransom payments totalling $88,000 funnelled through six designated bank accounts.
On Oct. 27, 2025, RSF fighters intercepted a mixed convoy of civilians and armed personnel attempting to break out toward Wana mountain, opening fire indiscriminately and killing hundreds. Video footage verified by the UN panel showed RSF fighters patrolling the perimeter trench beside dozens of bodies clad in civilian clothes.