The International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed in western Sudan, particularly in the Darfur region, as the civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to ravage the country. The revelation was made during a briefing to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, underscoring the alarming scale of atrocities in Sudan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.
According to ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan, some of the most disturbing evidence emerging from the court’s investigation includes widespread and targeted sexual violence against women and girls from specific ethnic groups. She described an “inescapable pattern of offending,” suggesting systematic and coordinated attacks.
War erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, a conflict that has since led to tens of thousands of civilian deaths and the displacement of over 12 million people. The United Nations has consistently described the humanitarian toll as catastrophic, with entire communities under siege, aid convoys attacked, and famine worsening rapidly across Darfur.
In January 2025, the United States formally accused the RSF and its allied militias of committing genocide, particularly against ethnic groups in Darfur. Although the RSF has denied involvement, claiming the violence is part of a broader “tribal conflict,” international observers and rights groups dispute this narrative.
The ICC’s renewed investigation, launched in 2023, builds upon a mandate given two decades ago by the UN Security Council to investigate crimes in Darfur dating back to 2002. The court has been interviewing survivors who fled to neighboring Chad, collecting evidence that includes testimonies of mass killings, sexual slavery, and deliberate starvation tactics.
The humanitarian crisis in Darfur is intensifying, with the city of El-Fasher under siege by RSF forces and cholera outbreaks threatening already dwindling water supplies. UNICEF reports that more than 40,000 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition in the first five months of 2025, double the number from the same period last year. Sheldon Yett of UNICEF warned, “Children in Darfur are being starved by conflict and cut off from the very aid that could save them.”
In total, over 150,000 people have died in the conflict so far, and the ICC has warned the situation remains highly volatile. “We should not be under any illusion things can still get worse,” Khan emphasized.
As international pressure mounts and evidence of atrocities grows, the spotlight remains firmly on Sudan’s warring factions and their accountability under international law. The ICC’s findings could pave the way for prosecutions and further global action to halt what many now consider one of the worst humanitarian crises of the decade.
Leave a comment