| Darfur genocide | |
|---|---|
| Part of war crimes during the Sudanese civil war | |
 | |
| Location | Darfur, Sudan |
| Date | 15 April 2023 – present |
| Target | Masalit people, Fur people, Zaghawa people, Berti people |
Attack type | Genocide, [1] [2] [3] mass killings, massacress, ethnic cleansing |
| Deaths | At least 17,000–145,000 [4] [ better source needed ] |
| Perpetrator |
|
| Motive | Anti-Black racism, Arabization [5] |
| Part of a series on |
| Genocide of indigenous peoples |
|---|
| Issues |
The Darfur genocide, [6] also known as the second Darfur genocide, [7] Sudan genocide, [8] or Sudanese genocide, is an ongoing series of persecutions and mass killings of non-Arabs in Darfur carried out by the Rapid Support Forces and its allies during the Sudanese civil war. [9] The genocide has been recognized by Genocide Watch, [10] the government of the United States, American academic Eric Reeves, [11] [12] Governor of West Darfur Khamis Abakar, [9] [13] and The Economist . [14]
The genocidal campaign started on 15 April 2023, in conjunction with the Sudanese civil war between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces that had begun days earlier. 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, and in late 2025 against various non-Arab groups in El Fasher, North Darfur. [13] [15] In January 2025, the United States Department of State determined that the RSF was committing genocide in Sudan. [16]
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, in Sirba, and in Murnei, among others. [9] Hundreds of thousands of Masalit civilians were displaced into Chad. [13] 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 from all ethnicities took part in the killings. [9]
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. [17] [18] 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. [19] [20] Accusations of genocide have additionally been made regarding the wanton massacres of civilians in villages in Gezira State and states around the White Nile. [21]