AU envoy on genocide prevention arrives in Port Sudan
November 16, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – The African Union (AU) Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, arrived on Sunday in Port Sudan, eastern Sudan, for meetings with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the justice system.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) face accusations of mass killings that may amount to genocide after their capture of El Fasher on Oct. 26. The United States says the RSF committed genocide against the Masalit ethnic group in West Darfur.
The official news agency reported that Dieng’s four-day official visit “will include meetings with officials in the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Religious Affairs, in addition to the Public Prosecutor.”
It noted that during these meetings, Dieng would be briefed on the situation in light of RSF violations against civilians in several states, as well as the threats to Sudan’s unity and stability from attacks supported by external parties.
The agency noted that the envoy’s visit falls within the context of the AU’s interest in the country’s security and stability, as well as its pursuit of ending the conflict and halting violations.
On Friday, Adama Dieng addressed the UN Human Rights Council, which held an emergency session condemning RSF crimes in El Fasher. It called on the fact-finding mission to conduct an urgent investigation into the violations committed in the city.
Dieng, who read a joint statement on behalf of the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide during the Human Rights Council session, said the situation in Sudan, especially in El Fasher, Darfur, and Greater Kordofan, has reached a critical and tragic stage.
He explained that survivors from the Zamzam camp, located 12 km southwest of El Fasher, recounted being under siege-like conditions. A humanitarian worker reported that the fighters wanted to kill the population, which Adama Dieng affirmed “constitutes a crime against humanity and a crime of genocide.”
The RSF overran the Zamzam camp last April, with the United Nations reporting that the attacking forces committed widespread violations, including killing, rape, looting, and the displacement of over one million people.
The RSF’s deputy commander, Abdel Rahim Daglo, was present during the storming of Zamzam camp and also on the day El Fasher was captured, indicating that the force’s leadership endorses the violations committed in the camp and the city.
Adama Dieng stated that the flow of weapons and fighters into Sudan is directly contributing to the systematic targeting of specific ethnic groups.
The Sudanese government says it has evidence that the UAE is supplying the RSF with weapons, military equipment, and mercenaries from neighbouring countries and Colombia. It stresses that stopping this supply would end the conflict that erupted in mid-April 2023.