Sudan Conflict: ICC probes killings in al-Fashir as thousands flee after RSF capture

What the ICC Is Investigating

The ICC has been investigating alleged genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur since 2005, when the UN Security Council referred the case.

In a statement quoted by Reuters, the ICC prosecutors said: “Within the ongoing investigation, the office is taking immediate steps regarding the alleged crimes in al-Fashir to preserve and collect relevant evidence for its use in future prosecutions.”

Survivors told Reuters that men attempting to flee al-Fashir were separated from their families and killed. Experts said the attacks appear similar to earlier violence in Darfur that was widely labelled as genocide.

The fate of an estimated 200,000 people believed to be trapped in the city remains unclear.

Why the RSF’s Capture of al-Fashir Matters

The RSF’s seizure of al-Fashir gives the group effective control over much of Darfur and more than a quarter of Sudan. The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters that “history is repeating itself” in the region.

Last month, the ICC convicted a former Janjaweed militia leader for crimes committed in Darfur more than 20 years ago.

The court, based in The Hague, can prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity when committed on the territory of one of its 125 member states or when referred by the UN Security Council.

How Many People Have Fled and Where They Are Going

The Guardian, citing the International Organization for Migration (IOM), reported that at least 36,825 people fled five localities in North Kordofan state between 26 and 31 October.

Most of them travelled on foot to Tawila, a town already hosting more than 650,000 displaced people.

Residents in North Kordofan told AFP that both RSF and army forces have increased their presence across the region, as each side seeks control of El Obeid a strategic hub linking Darfur to the capital, Khartoum.

“We stopped going to our farms, afraid of clashes,” said Suleiman Babiker, a farmer from Um Smeima, west of El Obeid.

Another resident, speaking anonymously, said there had been “a big increase in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid” over the past two weeks.

Warnings from the UN and Global Reactions

Martha Pobee, the UN assistant secretary general for Africa, warned of “large-scale atrocities” and “ethnically motivated reprisals” by RSF fighters in Bara, north of El Obeid.

She said the violence followed patterns seen in Darfur, where RSF forces have been accused of killings, sexual violence and abductions against non-Arab communities.

Pope Leo appealed on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire and for aid corridors to be opened, saying attacks on civilians and obstacles to relief efforts “are causing unacceptable suffering.”

Sudan’s ambassador to Egypt, Imadeldin Mustafa Adawi, accused the RSF of committing war crimes in El Fasher and urged the international community to designate the group as a terrorist organisation. “The Sudanese government will not negotiate with the paramilitary group,” Adawi said.