GENEVA - A UN Human Rights Office report published today details widespread killings, rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture and abductions committed during the three-day offensive by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Zamzam internally displaced persons camp in April this year.
At least 1,013 civilians were killed during the offensive from 11 to 13 April in what the report describes as "a consistent pattern of serious violations of international humanitarian law and gross abuses of international human rights law".
Of those killed, 319 were summarily executed, either in the camp or as they tried to flee. Some were killed in their homes during house-to-house searches by the RSF, others were killed in the main market, in schools, health facilities and mosques. More than 400,000 inhabitants of the camp were displaced once again due to the attack.
A surviving community leader recounted how two RSF fighters inserted their rifles through small holes in the window of the room where he was hiding with 10 other men and opened fire, killing randomly eight of them. A woman who returned to the camp the day after the deadly assault, in search of her missing 15-year-old son, said: "The camp was empty. I saw scattered dead bodies on the roads. Only chicken, donkeys and sheep were wandering around." She did not find her son that day.
"Such deliberate killing of civilians or persons hors de combat may constitute the war crime of murder," said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. "There must be an impartial, thorough and effective investigation into the attack on the Zamzam IDP camp, and those responsible for serious violations of international law must be punished within fair proceedings."
The report also details patterns of conflict-related sexual violence. At least 104 survivors, comprising 75 women, 26 girls and 3 boys, most of them from the Zaghawa ethnic group, were subjected to gruesome sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, and sexual slavery, both during the attack on the camp and along the exit routes.
"Sexual violence appears to have been deliberately used to inflict terror among the community," said the report.
In the months prior to the attack, the RSF had blocked the entry of all food, water, fuel and other goods essential for the survival of the civilian population in Zamzam IDP camp and systematically attacked those who attempted to bring in supplies, the report said. Some 26 individuals were apprehended and reportedly executed along the road between Zamzam IDP camp and Tawila, apparently as a warning against any attempt to bring food into the camp. To survive, many families resorted to feeding children animal feed, such as peanut shells.
"These horrific patterns of violations - committed with impunity - are consistent with what my Office has repeatedly documented, including during the RSF takeover of El Fasher in late October," said Türk.
"The findings contained in this report are yet another stark reminder of the need for prompt action to end the cycles of atrocities and violence, and to ensure accountability and reparations for victims," said Türk. "The world must not sit back and watch as such cruelty becomes entrenched as the order of the day in Sudan. All States, particularly those with influence on the situation, must do all in their power to prevent atrocities."
The UN Human Rights Chief renewed his call on all States to act urgently to prevent the commission of crimes under international law by the parties to the conflict, and to intensify pressure on them to end the violence - in Darfur, in Kordofan and beyond - including by taking steps to halt the supply, sale or transfer of arms that continue to fuel the conflict.
He also called for sustained diplomatic efforts towards a cessation of hostilities and a durable resolution to the conflict.
The report is based on monitoring undertaken by the UN Human Rights Office, including interviews conducted in July 2025 with 155 survivors and witnesses in eastern Chad.
To read the full report, click here: https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/report-ohchr-sudan-country-office-offensive-rapid-support-forces-zamzam
