Darfur genocide (2023–present)

This article is about the overall genocide. For events that specifically targeted the Masalit people, see Masalit genocide. For the genocidal massacre in October 2025, see El Fasher massacre.

Darfur genocide
Part of war crimes during the Sudanese civil war
The Darfur region of Sudan
Location	Darfur, Sudan
Date	15 April 2023 – present
Target	Masalit people, Fur people, Zaghawa people, Berti people, Tama people
Attack type	Genocide, [1] [2] [3] mass killings, massacress, ethnic cleansing
Deaths	At least 17,000–145,000 [4] [ better source needed ]
Perpetrator	Government of Peace and Unity Rapid Support Forces (denied by RSF) Janjaweed
Motive	Anti-Black racism, Arabization, [5] Arab supremacy

The Darfur genocide, ^[6] also known as the second Darfur genocide, ^{[7] [8] [9]} is an ongoing series of persecutions and mass killings of non-Arabs in Darfur carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allies during the Sudanese civil war. ^[10] The genocidal campaign started on 15 April 2023 in conjunction with civil war between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The RSF and allied militias began committing organized massacres of non-Arab civilians in all states of Darfur, with the largest occurring throughout 2023 against the Masalit people in the area of Geneina, West Darfur. ^[11] The genocide has been recognized by Genocide Watch, ^[12] the government of the United States, and American academic Eric Reeves. ^{[13] [14] [10]}

Background

Darfur is a region of western Sudan. Most residents living in Darfur are Black Africans, as opposed to the majority Arab rest of the country. Tensions have existed for years between ethnicities in the region. ^{[15] [16]}

Darfur was the location of another genocide between 2003 and 2005. During the 2003 genocide, an estimated 200,000 civilians died from violence related to the conflict. Most victims of this previous genocide were members of the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa communities. ^[17]

On 15 April 2023, a civil war began in Sudan between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army. As many as 400,000 people have been killed as a result of the conflict and 11 million have been displaced. ^[18] The RSF is a descendant of the Janjaweed, the Arab militia that perpetrated the 2003 genocide. ^[19]

Timeline

Further information: Timeline of the Sudanese civil war (2025), Timeline of the Sudanese civil war (2024), and Timeline of the Sudanese civil war (2023)

2023

• 27 April: All hospitals in Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, were rendered inoperational due to the conflict. Many hospitals in the city were looted. ^[20]

• 28 April: At least 96 people were killed in inter-ethnic clashes reported in Geneina. Fighting in the city was mainly between pro-Arab militias and Masalit civilians, some of whom were armed. ^[20]
• 12 May: A "declaration of principles" ^[21] was signed between the two warring factions that included a guarantee for safe passage for civilians and relief workers. The deal also contained an agreement to not use human shields, but notably lacked a pause in fighting. ^[22] At least 77 people were killed in Geneina after a two-week pause in fighting. ^[23]
• 13 May: The death toll for the fighting in Geneina reached 100 as fighting resumed in the city. ^[21]
• 14 May: Arab militiamen entered a hospital in Geneina and executed 12 injured non-Arab civilians. ^[24]
• 16 May: The death toll in Geneina reached 280 deaths and 180 injuries. ^[25]
• 20 May: 30 people were killed in clashes near Nyala's main market. ^[26]
• 28 May: In the predominantly Masalit town of Misterei, at least 40 people were massacred by RSF fighters. ^{[27] [28]} Six other towns in West Darfur were also burned and destroyed. ^[28]
• 29 May: The Chadian army captured several armed militiamen who had been searching for non-Arab refugees, and stopping them from fleeing. ^[29]
• 3 June: At least 40 people were killed in Kutum amid fighting in North Darfur, including civilians living in the Kassab camp. ^[30]
• 6 June: An estimated 500 people had died so far in attacks in Geneina perpetrated by the RSF. ^[31]
• 11 June: Fighting resumed after a brief ceasefire. An estimated 1,000 people had been killed in Geneina, most being targeted based on ethnicity. ^[32]
• 13 June: 17 people were killed in the El Jamarik neighbourhood of Geneina following an RSF shelling. ^[33]
• 14 June: The governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abakar, was abducted and killed after accusing the RSF of genocide in Darfur. ^[34]
• 19 June: At least seven people were killed and many neighbourhoods destroyed during fighting in Tawila, North Darfur. At least 5,000 people had been killed in Geneina since the beginning of the siege. ^[35]
• 20 June: Over 20 neighbourhoods and all 86 shelters for the displaced were destroyed in Geneina. In addition, the city's market was torched. ^[36]
• 25 June: Summary executions were reported in the Geneina area. ^[37]

Genocide

Initial massacres targeted Masalit communities in West Darfur between April and November 2023, with over 15,000 civilians killed in the Geneina massacre in June and several hundred civilians killed in massacres in Misterei, Sirba, and Murnei, among others. ^[10] Hundreds of thousands of Masalit civilians were displaced into Chad. ^[11] The Masalit genocide lasted until the Ardamata massacre in November, when thousands of Masalit civilians and Sudanese army defenders were massacred by the RSF. The Masalit genocide was spearheaded by the RSF, but people of all ethnicities took part in the killings. ^[10]

Also subject to ethnically driven massacres by the RSF are other areas in Darfur and parts of the region of Kordofan, including villages around Tawila and Kutum in North Darfur and rural areas in other Darfuri states. ^{[38] [39]} Accusations of genocide have additionally been made regarding the wanton massacres of civilians in villages in Gezira State and states around the White Nile. ^[40]

El Fasher massacre

Following the genocide against the Masalit, the RSF tightened its siege of El Fasher, which was home to hundreds of thousands of non-Arab refugees. In April 2025, the Abu Shouk and Zamzam refugee camps outside of the city were massacred several times by the RSF and allied Arab militias, killing hundreds of people between April and August. In the aftermath of the fall of El Fasher to the RSF in October, tens of thousands of people, mostly non-Arab civilians and particularly the Zaghawa people, were killed in the El Fasher massacre. ^{[41] [42]} 500,000 people have fled El Fasher since the city fell to the RSF. Many RSF fighters are using Chinese-made drones to accelerate the speed of killings near the city. ^[43] And estimated 200,000 civilians were trapped in El Fasher at the time of its capture, with many believed to have been systematically killed. ^[44]

Responses

On 7 January 2025, Antony Blinken, the former US Secretary of State, declared that the RSF and some allied militia were committing genocide in Darfur. ^[17]

See also

• Darfur genocide (2003–2005)
• 21st-century genocides#Sudan (2023)
• Human rights in Sudan
• List of ethnic cleansing campaigns
• List of genocides
• List of massacres in Sudan
• Politics of Sudan
• War crimes during the Sudanese civil war (2023–present)

References

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