We have now found concrete evidence that links what is happening on the ground to specific persons in leadership
For more than two decades, the International Criminal Court has watched the same patterns of violence repeat themselves in Sudan's Darfur region — Arab paramilitaries targeting non-Arab populations, cities falling, survivors fleeing. Now, three years into investigating the latest chapter of that tragedy, the court's deputy chief prosecutor has announced that concrete evidence links the leaders of the Rapid Support Forces to war crimes and crimes against humanity in el-Fasher and el-Geneina. The announcement, made after visits to refugee camps in eastern Chad, does not yet carry a timeline for charges, but it signals that the long arc of international accountability is bending, however slowly, toward these events.
- Over 6,000 people were killed when the RSF seized el-Fasher last October, and tens of thousands more were driven from their homes — a scale of violence the UN has described as bearing the hallmarks of genocide.
- The RSF has denied that the killings were ethnically motivated and insists the death toll has been exaggerated, even as its own leader acknowledged atrocities may have occurred and promised an internal investigation.
- ICC deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan says investigators have built a direct evidentiary chain — witness testimony, videos, photographs, and forensic analysis — connecting what happened on the ground to specific RSF leaders.
- No charges have been filed and no timeline has been offered, leaving survivors in limbo even as the court insists its momentum is real and the patterns of offending are unmistakable.
- The RSF grew out of the very Janjaweed militias the ICC spent the last twenty years pursuing, and the court's earlier work has yielded only seven arrests and one conviction — a reminder of how long justice can take to arrive.
Three years after the latest wave of violence erupted in Sudan's Darfur region, the International Criminal Court has reached what its deputy chief prosecutor describes as a meaningful turning point. Nazhat Shameem Khan, speaking after visiting survivor camps in eastern Chad, told the BBC that investigators have assembled concrete evidence linking RSF leadership to war crimes and crimes against humanity — a breakthrough in a case that has consumed the court since April 2023.
The violence has been most devastating in two cities. The RSF's seizure of el-Fasher last October left more than 6,000 dead by UN count, and a similar massacre unfolded in el-Geneina. The UN has said the attacks bore the hallmarks of genocide, targeting non-Arab populations in patterns that echo the Darfur atrocities of the early 2000s. The RSF has denied ethnic motivation and disputed the scale of the killings, while acknowledging some violations occurred.
Khan described a direct chain of evidence — testimony, recordings, photographs, and forensic analysis — connecting specific RSF leaders to what investigators found on the ground. She offered no timeline for charges, only the assurance that the court's progress is real.
The investigation draws on more than two decades of ICC work in Darfur. That history has produced seven arrests and one conviction: former Janjaweed commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, sentenced last year to twenty years on twenty-seven counts. Sudan's former president Omar al-Bashir, also charged, remains beyond the court's reach, believed to be held in a medical facility in Sudan. The RSF itself evolved from those same Janjaweed militias — once allied with Sudan's army, now fighting against it in a broader civil war. The court watches the same patterns repeat, and presses forward without a fixed endpoint in sight.
Three years into an investigation of massacres in Sudan's Darfur region, the International Criminal Court has assembled what its deputy chief prosecutor calls "concrete evidence" linking leaders of the Rapid Support Forces to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Nazhat Shameem Khan made the announcement after visiting refugee camps in eastern Chad, where survivors of the violence described the atrocities they had endured. The breakthrough, she told the BBC, represents significant progress in a case that has consumed the court's attention since the conflict erupted in April 2023.
The violence in Darfur has been concentrated in two cities. In el-Fasher, the RSF's seizure of the city in October last year left more than 6,000 people dead, according to United Nations figures. The paramilitary group is also accused of orchestrating a similar massacre in el-Geneina. Tens of thousands of residents fled their homes as the fighting intensified. The UN has said the violence in el-Fasher bore the hallmarks of genocide, though the RSF has consistently denied that the killings were ethnically motivated or that their scale has been accurately reported. The group acknowledged that some violations occurred but insisted the numbers had been exaggerated.
Khan's evidence comes from multiple sources: witness testimony, video recordings, photographs, and forensic analysis. She described a direct chain connecting what investigators observed on the ground to specific individuals in leadership positions within the RSF. Yet she offered no timeline for when charges might be filed. "We cannot say how quickly or how long it's going to take," she said, though she emphasized that the court's momentum is real and the patterns of violence are unmistakable.
The current investigation sits within a much longer history. The ICC has been examining atrocities in Darfur for more than two decades, stretching back to the violence of the 2000s. Khan noted that the patterns of offending she sees now mirror those from twenty years ago—systematic targeting of non-Arab populations by Arab paramilitaries. The earlier investigations have yielded seven arrests and six cases brought before the court. One former militia leader, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, a senior figure in the Janjaweed militia, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year after conviction on twenty-seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Sudan's former President Omar al-Bashir, also charged, remains at large; he is believed to be held in a secure medical facility in Sudan after being ousted in a coup in 2019. Four other defendants have arrest warrants outstanding but have not been apprehended.
The RSF itself evolved from the Janjaweed and other government-backed militias that operated during the earlier Darfur conflict. Once aligned with Sudan's army, the group is now fighting against it in a broader civil war. RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said shortly after el-Fasher fell that the group was investigating any atrocities, and the RSF stated recently that this internal probe continues. The court's investigation, meanwhile, proceeds without a fixed endpoint in sight. Khan's message was measured but firm: justice will come, even if the path to it remains uncertain.
Citas Notables
We have now found concrete evidence that links what is happening on the ground through linkage evidence to specific persons in leadership mode.— Nazhat Shameem Khan, ICC deputy chief prosecutor
It may take time for justice to develop, to be brought to the court, but we will get there.— Nazhat Shameem Khan, ICC deputy chief prosecutor
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
What does "concrete evidence" actually mean in this context? Is it different from what the ICC had before?
It means they've moved beyond allegations and survivor testimony alone. They have videos, photographs, forensic material—physical traces—and they've connected those traces to specific people in the RSF leadership. Before, they had the crime scene. Now they have the chain of command.
Why has this taken three years when the violence started in April 2023?
Because tracing responsibility in a war zone is methodical work. You have to find witnesses who are safe enough to talk, collect evidence from active conflict areas, verify it, cross-reference it. And the ICC is building cases that will hold up in court, not just making accusations.
The RSF denies the killings were ethnically motivated. How does the ICC prove intent?
Pattern evidence. If you see the same group targeting the same ethnic populations in the same way across multiple cities and over decades—as Khan mentioned happened in the 2000s and is happening now—that pattern itself becomes proof of systematic intent.
Why no timeline for charges?
Because the court doesn't control the variables. They need to locate defendants, secure their arrest, prepare trial materials. One of the people they want to charge is a former president who's hidden in Sudan. You can't rush that.
Does this investigation change anything on the ground right now?
Not immediately. The war is still happening. But it signals that the people ordering these killings are being documented, tracked, and will eventually face accountability—if the court can reach them. That's not nothing, even if it feels distant to someone in a refugee camp.