UN Rights Chief Condemns Deadly RSF Attack on El Fasher and Abu Shouk Camp

El Fasher, which has endured over a year of siege and near-constant violence, remains in a dire humanitarian state. Monday’s assault is the latest in a pattern of RSF attacks on displacement camps in the region.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has expressed deep outrage at the large-scale attack carried out by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the besieged city of El Fasher and the nearby Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), which left scores of civilians dead.

According to preliminary findings by the UN Human Rights Office, the 11 August assault resulted in at least 57 civilian deaths, including 40 displaced people killed within Abu Shouk camp in Sudan’s North Darfur state. The Office is also investigating allegations that RSF fighters executed camp residents during the attack.

A City Under Siege and Repeated Assault

El Fasher, which has endured over a year of siege and near-constant violence, remains in a dire humanitarian state. Monday’s assault is the latest in a pattern of RSF attacks on displacement camps in the region.

From January to June 2025, Abu Shouk camp was attacked at least 16 times, resulting in 212 IDP deaths and 111 injuries. The RSF’s ongoing offensive to seize control of El Fasher and surrounding camps has raised serious concerns under international humanitarian law.

“It is with dismay that we yet again witness an unimaginable horror inflicted upon civilians in El Fasher,” Türk said. “Such repeated attacks on civilians are totally unacceptable and must stop.”

Risk of Ethnically Motivated Persecution

The UN rights chief warned of a serious risk of ethnically motivated persecution as the RSF escalates its efforts to gain control over El Fasher and Abu Shouk.

UN Human Rights staff, during a recent mission to eastern Chad, interviewed more than 150 survivors of the RSF’s April attack on Zamzam camp. Survivors described:

• Killings of civilians

• Widespread rape and gang rape

• Enforced disappearances

• Torture during and after the assault

• Perilous escape attempts, with no safe routes out of El Fasher

These accounts corroborate earlier documentation of grave human rights violations and paint a harrowing picture of life under siege in Darfur’s conflict zones.

Call for Civilian Protection and Humanitarian Access

Türk renewed his appeal for all parties to immediately implement measures that guarantee the protection of civilians and ensure safe passage out of conflict areas. He urged combatants to agree to humanitarian pauses in besieged zones, enabling aid agencies to deliver life-saving assistance to those in need.

“I urge third States to use all their influence to put an end to these violations,” he said. “Accountability is crucial to break this cycle of persistent and egregious violations.”

The UN Human Rights Office continues to document attacks across Darfur as part of efforts to lay the groundwork for future accountability mechanisms. However, Türk stressed that political pressure and international cooperation are urgently needed to halt the atrocities and prevent further mass killings.