ICC Finds Rapid Support Forces Committed War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity in El Fasher, Darfur

ICC Finds Rapid Support Forces Committed War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity in El Fasher, Darfur

20 January, 20265 sources compared
Sudan

Key Points from 5 News Sources

  1. 1

    Rapid Support Forces committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in El Fasher

  2. 2

    ICC presented video, audio, and satellite evidence to the UN Security Council

  3. 3

    RSF systematically used sexual violence as a weapon against civilians in El Fasher

Full Analysis Summary

ICC report on Darfur

The International Criminal Court told the United Nations Security Council that its July–December 2025 assessment documents systematic and widespread war crimes and crimes against humanity by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during the October siege of El Fasher in Darfur.

The report, based on videos, images, partner material and open-source information, details patterns of arbitrary detention, mistreatment, and mass and summary killings.

It also documents the targeting of non-Arab ethnic groups, and investigators are working to establish linkages and identify individual perpetrators.

The ICC describes an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the area, including famine, rising death rates, mass displacement and gender-based crimes.

The court warns that ongoing impunity could fuel further violence.

Coverage Differences

Tone/Narrative emphasis

The Eastleigh Voice (Local Western) emphasizes the ICC’s depiction of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and warns that impunity could fuel cycles of violence, while dailysabah (Other) focuses on the types of evidence collected (video, audio, satellite) and the patterns of crimes including sexual violence; middleeastmonitor (Other) provides no substantive article text and thus omits coverage entirely.

ICC briefing on abuses

Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan presented an ICC briefing to the UN Security Council outlining patterns of alleged abuse.

The briefing highlighted arbitrary detention, mistreatment, executions targeting civilians from non-Arab tribes, and the systematic use of sexual violence, including rape, as a weapon of war.

The Eastleigh Voice cited graphic visual material and satellite imagery suggesting mass killings and attempts to conceal crimes in mass graves.

Dailysabah explicitly linked the El Fasher evidence to similar atrocities seen previously in El Geneina in 2023.

Coverage Differences

Detail focus

dailysabah (Other) highlights parallels with past atrocities in El Geneina (2023) and stresses the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, while The Eastleigh Voice (Local Western) spotlights satellite imagery and the desecration of victims and documents an ethnic targeting allegation; middleeastmonitor (Other) contains no article and therefore contributes no detail.

El Fasher humanitarian crisis

The ICC report frames the events in El Fasher as producing an unprecedented humanitarian emergency: famine conditions, rising mortality, mass displacement and widespread gender-based crimes.

The Eastleigh Voice highlights those humanitarian consequences in its summary to the UN Security Council, warning that impunity could entrench further cycles of violence.

Dailysabah echoes the severity while adding that the ICC's evidence collection faces access and witness-safety challenges, though it notes improved cooperation with some African states and Sudanese authorities.

Coverage Differences

Emphasis on humanitarian vs. investigative challenges

The Eastleigh Voice (Local Western) emphasizes humanitarian catastrophe and impunity risks, whereas dailysabah (Other) balances that with discussion of investigative challenges and cooperation improvements; middleeastmonitor (Other) lacks an article and thus misses both emphases.

ICC briefing and reactions

The ICC briefing referenced progress and milestones, with Daily Sabah noting the October 2025 conviction of Ali Mohammed Abdul Rahman as the first Security Council referral to result in a conviction and the first based on gender-based persecution.

The briefing was delivered by video after the United States denied Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan a visa to attend in person, a point Daily Sabah reports prompted criticism from many Council members.

The Eastleigh Voice does not mention the visa issue but stresses the ICC's ongoing investigations and its focus on identifying individual perpetrators.

Coverage Differences

Omission vs. specific procedural detail

dailysabah (Other) reports procedural and political details such as the Ali Mohammed Abdul Rahman conviction and the U.S. visa denial affecting Khan’s in‑person attendance; The Eastleigh Voice (Local Western) omits the visa detail and focuses on the ICC’s investigatory findings and humanitarian warnings; middleeastmonitor (Other) again provides no text.

ICC findings and reactions

The ICC findings have significant implications, and both available sources call for accountability to prevent further atrocities.

The Eastleigh Voice frames the findings as a warning about impunity and cycles of violence.

Daily Sabah emphasizes investigative priorities and international cooperation despite access obstacles, and notes political frictions such as the U.S. visa denial that may complicate engagement.

A substantive Middle East Monitor article was not supplied, leaving its perspective missing and creating a coverage gap.

Coverage Differences

Missing perspective / coverage gap

The Eastleigh Voice (Local Western) and dailysabah (Other) offer complementary emphases—humanitarian consequences and investigatory/procedural detail respectively—while middleeastmonitor (Other) is absent, leaving a notable omission in the set of available perspectives.

All 5 Sources Compared

Al-Jazeera Net

Outrage on platforms after the International Criminal Court revealed war crimes committed by "Rapid Support"

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dailysabah

ICC cites war crimes in Darfur as RSF atrocities persist in Sudan | Daily Sabah

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middleeastmonitor

ICC: Rapid Support Forces committed crimes against humanity in Sudan’s Fasher

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The Eastleigh Voice

ICC finds evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s El Fasher

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TRT Afrika

ICC finds evidence of war crimes in Sudan

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