The UN Human Rights Office published a report on Dec. 18 detailing its findings of atrocities committed during a three-day assault by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan’s Darfur region.
This wave of attacks took place in April of this year, when the camp fell to the RSF, and were found to constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL). The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker TĂĽrk, said, “These horrific patterns of violations—committed with impunity—are consistent with what my Office has repeatedly documented.” The UN called for an “impartial, thorough, and effective” investigation to hold those responsible for the atrocities accountable.
The report’s key findings include the killing of at least 1,013 civilians. The report documented widespread summary executions, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, abductions, and enforced disappearances. During the assault, the RSF pillaged food and livestock, looted shops and homes, and burned down houses. This conduct has extensive humanitarian and legal implications, according to the report:
The RSF’s offensive in and around Zamzam IDP camp had a devastating impact on the human rights of its residents, causing widespread loss of life and injuries, including long-term psychological harm…and broad destruction of essential civilian infrastructure. The documented patterns of IHL violations and IHRL abuses suggest that many of these acts were ethnically motivated, targeting individuals based on their tribal identity or perceived affiliation.
The aspect of ethnic motivation relates to recent warnings from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) over escalating ethnically targeted violence in Sudan.
A woman who returned to the camp to search for her 15-year-old son described the situation, stating, “The camp was empty. I saw scattered dead bodies on the roads. Only chicken, donkeys and sheep were wandering around. The RSF was positioned in the main market.” Another survivor reported to human rights investigators that RSF “fighters were just shouting and shooting anywhere, so that is how many people were killed.”
The Zamzam camp was created in 2004 to hold displaced persons fleeing the war in Darfur. It is located south of El Fasher, the North Darfur state capital. The camp has transformed over the years into an “urban-like setting,” with many children who have never known life outside the camp. According to the UN, roughly 500,000 people lived at Zamzam as of April 2025.
Sudan has signed but not ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and therefore is not a state party. However, the ICC has jurisdiction over crimes in Darfur under UN Security Council Resolution 1593.
From JURIST, Dec. 18. Used with permission. Internal links added.
Note: Resolution 1593 of 2005 provided the basis for the indictment of Darfur militia leader Ali Kushayb, who was recently convicted by the ICC.
Photo via UN News
