Hospital attacks In Sudan's conflict, both sides have potentially committed war crimes against medical facilities and staff, as evidenced by
BBC News Arabic. Aerial bombings and artillery fire targeted hospitals while patients were inside, and medical personnel were singled out for attacks, all constituting potential war crimes. Most hospitals in Khartoum closed due to weeks of fighting, impacting civilians' access to healthcare. Satellite data, extensive user-generated content analysis, and doctor testimonies substantiate the devastating effects on healthcare facilities. On 25 April, despite the ceasefire, heavy artillery fire was reported in
Omdurman, where a dozen people were injured after a hospital was hit. On 13 May, the SAF accused the RSF of attacking two hospitals in Khartoum. On 14 May, eyewitnesses in
Geneina said
Arab militias entered a hospital and massacred 12 non-Arab patients. On 15 May, The Sharq el-Nil Hospital in Khartoum was reported to have been hit by an air strike. On 22 May, fighting was reported around the Aliyaa military hospital in Omdurman and south of the city near the border with
White Nile State, near a small airport. On 1 July 2023, the
Sudanese Doctors Union accused the RSF of raiding the Shuhada hospital and killing a staff member. The RSF denied the accusation. On 15 July, five people were killed and 22 others were injured in a drone strike on the Aliya hospital in Omdurman blamed on the RSF. On 16 July, the RSF was accused of attacking the Aliya hospital for a second day with drones. On 1 August, the Doctors' Hospital, northwest of Khartoum Airport, partially collapsed due to shelling, with the RSF accusing the SAF of targeting the facility in airstrikes. On 9 October, three people were killed by SAF shelling on the Al-Nau hospital in Omdurman, and 20 people were killed by RSF shelling at a clinic attached to a mosque in the Samarab neighbourhood of Khartoum Bahri. and disrupted medical services, jeopardising the operation of remaining hospitals and clinics in Khartoum. Over 46 verified assaults on health workers and facilities were documented, resulting in fatalities and injuries. On 19 September 2023, the
WHO also said that between 70 and 80% of hospitals in conflict-affected states were out of service, either for being closed or destroyed.
Indiscriminate shelling From the start of the war since 15 April, heavy shelling and gunfire was reported in
Khartoum,
Khartoum Bahri and
Omdurman as the RSF accused the SAF of staging a "sweeping attack" that continued through April, and May. During negotiations in
Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia on 12 May, there was no agreement towards a cessation of hostilities as air strikes and shelling in Khartoum. During May, two people were reported to have been killed in an SAF airstrike in Khartoum, and the
Sudanese Doctors' Union said that at least 18 people were killed and more than 100 others were wounded after rockets hit a market in
Mayo, south of Khartoum. In June 2023, the SAF continuing the airstrikes and
indiscriminate shelling of RSF positions in Khartoum and
El-Obeid, as the SAF killed 10 students from the
Democratic Republic of Congo in the
International University of Africa in Khartoum. 17 people were killed by RSF shelling in the El Jamarik neighbourhood of Geneina. During July 2023, the SAF airstrikes and shelling killed at least 16 people in
Ombadda, Omdurman, between 22 and 31 people in Dar es Salaam district of Omdurman, at least 30 civilians in Nyala, and 18 civilians in Omdurman. and El Remeila neighbourhood, respectively. A child was killed and three others were injured by
SPLM-N (
al-Hilu) shelling of SAF positions in
Kadugli. In July 2023, the SAF airstrikes and shelling killed at least 29 people in Nyala with 24 people killed in a market, and 7 civilians near the central market in south Khartoum. At least 40 people were killed during heavy shelling between the SAF and the RSF in civilian areas of Nyala. Thirty of them died after a missile hit the Teiba Bridge where they had been hiding underneath. Six others were killed at a funeral. The SPLM-N (al-Hilu) attacked SAF positions in Dalami, South Kordofan, injuring two civilians from shelling. It also claimed that the RSF shelled the nearby Al-Salama area with mortar fire during their retreat, killing between six and ten civilians according to conflicting sources. During September 2023, the SAF airstrikes and shelling killed at least 20 civilians, including two children, in
Kalakla al-Qubba, Khartoum, 32 in Ombada, Omdurman, 51 in Gouro market in Khartoum, 43 in another market in Khartoum, 17 in Omdurman, and 45 in Nyala. People were also killed by indiscriminate shelling by the RSF, including at least 104 people who were killed throughout Khartoum. At least 30 of them were killed in the Hilet Kouko cattle market near Sharg El Nil, while ten people were killed and 11 others were injured in the Aljarafa area in the north of Omdurman. More civilians were killed during clashes between the SAF and RSF, with 25 people killed in Omdurman, one in
El-Odeya,
West Kordofan, and 30 in El Fasher. During October 2023, the RSF shelling killed at least 10 people in the El Jarafa neighbourhood of Omdurman, 20 people at a clinic attached to a mosque in the Samarab neighbourhood of Khartoum Bahri, and 190 people following two days of RSF artillery shelling of SAF air defence positions on
Jebel Awlia, Khartoum. The RSF also shelled the Al-Takrir neighborhood near
El-Fasher. The RSF shelling killed 11 in the Karari neighbourhood of Omdurman, 3 people at the Al-Nau hospital in Omdurman, In November 2023, at least 15 people were killed after the RSF shelled the Zaglouna market in Karari, Omdurman, and 12 people were killed by shelling in
Karari, Omdurman. On 7 October 2024, more than 100 people were killed or wounded in SAF airstrikes on the Fur Market in Hasaheisa. On 21 October, at least 31 people were killed in an SAF airstrike on a mosque in Wad Madani. In addition, individuals of all ages have been trapped in the crossfire during frequent attacks in densely populated civilian areas, with both sides employing explosive weaponry that affects a wide area. singer
Shaden Gardood, former football player
Fozi el-Mardi and his daughter, and Araki Abdelrahim, a member of the music group
Igd al-Jalad, were killed in crossfire. On 10 December 2024, an SAF airstrike at a market in
Kabkabiya in northern
Darfur, killing at least 100 people. Many residents from nearby towns were at the market when the strike occurred. A pro-democracy lawyers' group claimed more than 100 people died in the town of
Kabkabiya District while Emergency Lawyers said hundreds of others were wounded. They accused the Sudanese army for conducting the strike but the army said these were false accusations by pro-
Rapid Support Forces political groups.
Bodies in canals (Jazira state) Investigations published in December 2025 by CNN and Lighthouse Reports documented evidence of ethnically targeted killings by the
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied militias during the recapture of Wad Madani in January 2025. The investigation, based on satellite imagery, video analysis, and witness testimony, found that civilians were allegedly killed and their bodies disposed of in canals and mass graves. Videos geolocated to waterways north of the city showed multiple corpses in civilian clothing, some with bound hands, while satellite imagery identified objects consistent with human remains in canal beds near Bika and disturbed earth near suspected mass grave sites close to Police Bridge. Sources cited in the investigation, including Sudanese security officials and eyewitnesses, stated that SAF-aligned forces targeted individuals accused of collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as well as civilians from non-Arab ethnic groups, including people from Darfur and South Sudan. Accounts included reports of summary executions after fighting had ended. A United Nations fact-finding mission member described the events as a “targeted extermination of people,” potentially amounting to ethnic cleansing. The SAF stated that it condemned “individual violations” during the recapture of Wad Madani and announced internal investigations, though no public findings have been released.
Massacres in Darfur region In
Geneina, West Darfur, ethnic clashes that began in the last week of April had killed at least 1,100 people, while on 20 June the
Sultanate of Dar Masalit claimed that more than 5,000 people were killed and about 8,000 were wounded in the city by the RSF and
Janjaweed. On 22 July, a Masalit tribal leader claimed that more than 10,000 people had been killed in
West Darfur alone, and that 80% of Geneina's residents had fled. and
Misterei, while a mass grave was discovered in Geneina containing the bodies of 87 people killed in clashes.
Geneina massacre On 13 July 2023, a UN investigation discovered a mass grave of 87 individuals, all
Masalit civilians, near Geneina, allegedly killed by the RSF between 13 and 21 June. The
Darfur Bar Association reported the next day that the refugee camps of
Kreinik and
Sirba were under siege by the RSF. All makeshift shelters and refugee camps had been burned down by 20 June. Numerous villages, neighbourhoods, and cultural sites in and around Geneina were destroyed, including the city's Grand Market and the palace of the Masalit Sultanate. On 22 June 2023, the Dar Masalit Sultanate also released a statement claiming more than 5,000 civilians had been killed between 24 April and 24 June, the majority of whom were non-Arabs. The Sultanate called the situation a "genocide", and footage emerged of corpses being used as barricades, and the bodies of men, women, and children strewn across the streets. Refugees from West Darfur speaking to Al Jazeera in late June corroborated these claims, adding that similar situations unfolded in the West Darfur towns of
Misteri,
Konga Haraza, and
Tendelti between April and June. The RSF also attacked civilians in June on the road between Geneina and the Sudanese-Chadian border. A Geneina refugee stated that "the road along El Geneina and
Adré has a lot of bodies, nobody can count them". Another source claimed over 350 people were killed on the road alone. While Masalit people were often the target of Arab militiamen, refugees claimed the militiamen shot at anyone black. The Darfur Bar Association called the ethnic cleansing "a full-scale genocide". On 12 August 2023, a representative of the Masalit tribe, El Farsha Saleh Arbab Suleiman, gave a press conference in
Port Sudan in which he accused the RSF of seeking to conceal evidence of crimes committed in Geneina by burying bodies in hidden locations and forcing the
Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) to hand over bodies. The
Coordination of Resistance Committees confirmed the reports of the mass graves and said that, as of 16 August, several bodies were still on the roofs of houses or inside buildings. More than 1,000 bodies were found in 30 more mass graves on August 15. Thirteen more mass graves were discovered on September 14 in Geneina. In an interview with
AllAfrica, Masalit civilians in
Adré recounted their experiences in the city, including the killing of a large group of displaced Masalit civilians within the city. Masalit Sultan Saad Bahar el-Deen stated around 10,000 people from his community were killed by the RSF. In CNN interviews on August 16, which included photos collected while the massacres were occurring, the last count of killed civilians was 884, and after June 9, it became uncountable, and that the town was a "ghost town". Civilians also stated that young Masalit children were massacred by the RSF. and provide bulldozers and trucks to bury the corpses. The fighters came from the
Awlad Rashid,
Misseriya, and
Awlad Janoob tribes, led by
Mohamed Zain Taj Eldien and
Hamid Yousef Mustafa. Some of the assailants came from the
Mima and
Bargo ethnic groups. The attackers arrived in twelve
Land Cruisers, eight of which were RSF-owned, four of which were private. Other fighters rode on around 150 horses and 140 motorcycles. Around 90
Sudanese Alliance militants, a signatory of the Juba Agreement, intervened in the town, led by Cpt. Elteybe Abdulla Ahmed. Residents were fearful following the surrounding of the town, but there was "no way out". Wounded civilians were brought to the Atik mosque, although Janjaweed stormed the place and shot at the wounded and those attending to them. At least fifty civilians were killed in the attacks on Kassab, with many more injured. In the fighting, the market in Kutum was destroyed, along with much of Kassab.
Minni Minnawi, the governor of Darfur region, called Kutum a "disaster zone" on June 5, and deplored the massacres. Many residents fled to El Fasher or
Hashabah, both dozens of kilometers away. On June 7, 2023, the
Sudanese Combating Violence Against Women Unit stated that at least 18 women, including teenagers, were raped by the RSF and aligned Darfur Border Guards after they captured the city. Attacks on villages surrounding Kutum began on June 9, with the mayor of Farouk town Mohamedein Bektum being executed by RSF fighters after refusing to give up his car key. In the June 8 and 9 attacks, at least thirty-five more people were killed in RSF attacks. Later, Governor Abdelrahman stated that 5,000 families in Kutum alone were in need of humanitarian assistance. By July, more than 90% of the population of Kutum had fled.
Sirba massacre Sirba, West Darfur has been subject to violent seizure and destruction by the RSF and allied Arab militias multiple times. During the war Sirba has experienced significant destruction and has been nearly destroyed or burned to the ground multiple times. Satellite data shows the massive fire destruction in the town in late July 2023, leading to tens of thousands of civilians fleeing for their lives.
Taiba bridge massacre Forty-two people, mainly women and children, were killed in an airstrike on 23 August 2023, while they were sheltering under Taiba bridge in
Nyala, South Darfur, as most exits and entrances to the city were blocked off. Five families were killed, and many others lost 3-4 members each. Many of the killed were from the Taiba and El Sikka Hadid neighbourhoods, the former having recently been captured by the RSF. The airstrike was the largest single-day death toll of the battle of Nyala. Nyala-based journalist
Ahmed Gouja stated that the Taiba bridge massacre was not the only one in the city during the renewed fighting, but that the others were impossible to reach or get information about due to the clashes. The RSF accused the SAF of indiscriminately shelling the RSF-controlled Taiba neighbourhood, and having perpetrated the Taiba bridge massacre. The SAF did not make a statement on the airstrike. That same day, convoys from the
Joint Darfur Force (JDF) reached Nyala to deliver aid to civilians, with the commander, Lt. Col.
Hussein Yaqoub stating the force was strictly neutral. Cell phone service was restored on 11 September.
Ardamata massacre On 8 November 2023, the RSF and
Janjaweed massacred between 800 and 1,300 in
Ardamata,
West Darfur, although estimates vary. The attack came after the SAF's 15th Infantry Division camp retreated to Chad. About 20,000 fled to Chad following the violence.
El Fasher siege and massacre In May 2024 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. Following the
capture of El Fasher in October 2025, the fate of an estimated 150,000 residents who remained in the city is unknown; British MPs were briefed that 60,000 killed is the low estimate for El Fasher alone. The
Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab found "evidence consistent with Rapid Support Forces (RSF) conducting alleged mass killings after capturing El-Fasher" and said that the actions of RSF in El Fasher in 2025 "may be consistent with
war crimes and
crimes against humanity and may rise to the level of genocide".
Massacres in Gezira and Sennar States In December 2024, the
RSF took control of Wad Madani, the capital of
Gezira State, and installed their field commander, Abu Aagla Kaikal, as governor. Since then, the paramilitary group has been implicated in numerous attacks on villages throughout the state, committing severe atrocities such as murder, rape, torture, and looting. On 28 February, the RSF was accused of killing 16 people in an attack on the village of
Sherif Mukhtar. On 15 March, eight people were killed in an RSF raid on the village of Umm Jaris. On 22 March, five people were killed in RSF raids on El Hasaheisa and
Rufaa. On 28 March, eight people were killed in an RSF raid on the village of Al-Takla Jabara. As of March 2024, the RSF attacked 53 villages in Gezira State. In April 2024, severe violations by the RSF were reported in the Halaween area, leading to casualties, injuries, and displacement. Villages such as Manaqiza, Apsir, Al Takla Jubara, Kuzo Kabro, Istarhna, and Hababna faced violent attacks and artillery shelling. The RSF demanded money and cars, opening fire on villagers. For example, the RSF killed 28 people and injured 240 in Umm Adham village. On 10 May, 13 people were killed in an RSF attack on the village of El Harga Noureldin in Gezira State. On 21 May 2024, the RSF killed 18 people in al-Tikaina village. On 5 June 2024, the RSF attacked the village of
Wad Al-Noora in Gezira State state, killing at least 100 civilians. The massacre followed after the RSF sieged and opened fire on the village. Residents reported looting of the local market and crops, and the RSF's violent actions, including beatings. In July 2024, the
RSF launched an offensive in Sennar. On 15 August 2023, hundreds of RSF troops launched a multiple hours long attack on the village of Galgani in
Sennar State, storming the village while looting houses and other public properties, after which troops burnt them. The attack came after villagers launched a resistance against the RSF and successfully beat back a small RSF group. As a result of the attack, the village's medical centre took in at least 80 deceased victims which included twenty-four women and minors. On 1 August, 23 people were killed while 24 others were injured in an RSF raid on the village of El Adnab. On 16 August, twenty people were killed in an RSF attack on the village of El Majma Goz El Naga. Six people were also killed in another RSF attack in Beida, Sennar State, while the group also set fire to the regional bus station of Wad Madani. On 19 September, the RSF was accused of killing 40 people in a raid on the village of Qoz Al-Naqa and killing four others in a separate raid on Um Jalud, both in Gezira State. By October 2024 the SAF managed to thwart the RSF attack with field commander Abu Aagla Kaikal defecting to the SAF. As a retaliation Kaikal defection, the RSF started
mass killing of civilians in eastern Gezira state. to On 11 October, six people were killed in an RSF attack on the village of Umm Maliha in Gezira State, while 16 people were injured by RSF shelling on Omdurman. On 21 October, ten people were killed in an RSF attack on the village of
Tambul. On 25 October 2024, at least 124 people were killed and 200 others were injured in an RSF attack on the village of
Al-Sireha in
Al Kamlin District, Gezira State. These attacks continued for several days, with the RSF looting and vandalising properties. On 29 October 2024, five people were killed in an RSF attack on
Al Hilaliya in Gezira State. In February 2025,
Human Rights Watch reported that armed groups allied with the SAF targeted civilians in
Taiba, Gezira State, killing at least 26 people. Witnesses identified the perpetrators as followers of
Abu Aqla Kikal, leader of the Sudan Shield Forces. The HRW verified the attack using satellite imagery and videos, labeling it as a potential war crime. SAF condemned the incident as an "individual transgression", but has since not launched a full investigation.
Chemical weapons On 16 January 2025, Senior US officials reported that the SAF had recently used
chemical weapons against the RSF in rural areas at least twice. The US also sanctioned SAF chief General
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for the army's conduct in the war. On 22 May, the US announced new sanctions on Sudan over the SAF's use of chemical weapons against the RSF. ==Ethnic cleansing==