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| 2023 Masalit massacres | |
|---|---|
| Part of theWar crimes during the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) | |
 West Darfur highlighted in Sudan | |
| Location | West Darfur,Sudan |
| Coordinates | 13°27′N22°27′E / 13.450°N 22.450°E /13.450; 22.450 |
| Date | 24 April 2023 – present |
| Target | Masalit people |
Attack type | Mass murder,ethnic cleansing,genocidal massacre |
| Deaths | At least 10,000–136,000[1][better source needed] |
| Perpetrator |  Rapid Support Forces (denied by RSF) |
| Motive | Anti-Black racism,Arabization[2] |
TheMasalit massacres, sometimes referred to as theMasalit genocide,[3][4][5] are an ongoing series ofmassacres of theMasalit ethnic group in Sudan perpetrated by theRapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allies, during theSudanese civil war between the RSF and theSudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The massacres began in 2023 during theSudanese civil war when the RSF began committing organized mass killings ofMasalitcivilians inWest Darfur.
The ongoing massacres include theArdamata massacre,Misterei massacre and theBattle of Geneina, all of which targetedMasalit civilians within the area ofGeneina.[6][7] These incidents have been described byThe Economist,[8]Genocide Watch,[9] US academicEric Reeves,[10]Khamis Abakar (Governor ofWest Darfur),[11][12] and the US government as agenocide.
In December 2020, Sudan started to deploy troops toSouth Darfur "in large numbers", following recent tribal violence between theMasalit andFula.[14]On 16 January fighting betweenMasalit people and Arab nomads inAl Geneina District,West Darfur, left 84 dead and 160 wounded. This was two weeks after the United Nations withdrew its peacekeepers from the region.[15] Based on a statement from theDarfur Bar Association, the incident began when a member of an Arab tribe was stabbed by another member of the Masalit tribe.[16] Following the unrest, a high profile delegation authorized by Sudanese Prime MinisterAbdalla Hamdok was sent to the region in order to assess the situation.[17]
On 17 January, a curfew was put in place by the Sudanese authorities, including a state of emergency in West Darfur region.[18]
TheUnited Nations has urged the Sudanese government to see to the de-escalation of the violence in West Darfur and safeguard civilian lives.[19]
On 12 April, following several days of violence in West Darfur that led to the deaths of at least 144 people, chairman of the rulingTransitional Sovereignty Council,Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, along with high-ranking security and military officials, visitedGeneina, capital of West Darfur, where they held separate talks with the Arab Rizeigat and the non-Arab Masalit tribes.[20][21] After the visit, the Dar Masalit Displaced People expressed their refusal to accept the result of the mediation headed by al-Burhan. They blamed the paramilitaryRapid Support Forces for the unrest in the region.[22][23]
Following theBattle of Geneina in 2023, more than a thousand bodies were left in mass graves in the town ofEl Geneina.[24]
In January 2024, it was revealed that a report to the UN Security Council estimated that 10,000–15,000 people were killed inEl Geneina.[1]
According to accounts by survivors, massacres were coordinated, specifically targeting Masalit and other dark-skinned inhabitants ofDarfur, as opposed to theSudanese Arab population. TheRapid Support Forces denied involvement, characterizing the situation as a tribal conflict, while Arab tribal leaders denied being involved in ethnic cleansing and held the Masalit responsible for starting the conflict.[24]
On 13 July 2023, a UN investigation discovered a mass grave of 87 individuals, all Masalit civilians, near Geneina.[25] The civilians were killed by the Rapid Support Forces between 13 and 21 June.[26] Many of the dead were from al-Madariss and al-Jamarik neighborhoods.[26]Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, deplored the killings and stated that the UN was not allowed access to the site until July.[26]
During an attack on 19 June 2023, emir Badawi Masri Balhredin, cousin of the Dar Masalit sultan, was killed by the RSF.[27] Several other prominent people were killed in attacks on 19 and 20 June, including Sadig Haroun, the Commissioner of Humanitarian Aid in the city, and several mayors and imams.[28] The Darfur Bar Association reported the next day that the refugee camps ofKreinik andSirba were under siege by the RSF. All makeshift shelters and refugee camps had been burned down by 20 June.[28] Numerous villages, neighborhoods, and cultural sites in and around Geneina were destroyed, including the city's Grand Market and the palace of the Masalit Sultanate.[28]
On 22 June, 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.[29] 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.[29] Refugees from West Darfur speaking to Al Jazeera in late June corroborated these claims, adding that similar situations unfolded in the West Darfur towns ofMisteri,Konga Haraza, andTendelti between April and June.[30] The RSF also attacked civilians in June on the road between Geneina and the Sudanese-Chadian border.[30] Many of these killings were at RSF checkpoints, where a pregnant woman was killed by militiamen for not having enough money for passage.[31] A Geneina refugee stated that "the road along El Geneina andAdré has a lot of bodies, nobody can count them".[32] Another source claimed over 350 people were killed on the road alone.[33]
While Masalit people were often the target of Arab militiamen, refugees claimed the militiamen shot at anyone black.[32] Prominent civil society members, including lawyers, humanitarian officials, and more, were targeted by militias and the RSF after and during the fall of the city.[34][35] The Darfur Bar Association called the ethnic cleansing "a full-scale genocide".[34] The United Nations released a statement on 24 June deploring "wanton killings", but did not mention perpetrators.[36] An officer at theUNHCR office in Adre stated that the RSF intentionally killed men and boys to "[eliminate] future fighters as well as the line of ancestry of a specific ethnic group."[37]Prior to the Misterei attack, a group of 300 RSF fighters and allied tribes surrounded the town on the night of May 27, with the exceptions of the south and west, where the fighters entered the town.[38] The fighters came from theAwlad Rashid,Misseriya, andAwlad Janoob tribes, led byMohamed Zain Taj Eldien andHamid Yousef Mustafa.[39] Some of the assailants came from theMima andBargo ethnic groups.[39] The attackers arrived in twelveLand Cruisers, eight of which were RSF-owned, four of which were private.[39] Other fighters rode on around 150 horses and 140 motorcycles. Around 90Sudanese Alliance militants, a signatory of the Juba Agreement, intervened in the town, led by Cpt. Elteybe Abdulla Ahmed.[39] Residents were fearful following the surrounding of the town, but there was "no way out".[38]
The first clashes began at Shorrong mountain right after sunrise, when Janjaweed launched an offensive from the west. Later offensives came from the north and south.[40] The Janjaweed came in waves, according to a veteran of the attacks, and many of the self-defense groups were spread out across and around the town in groups of 7 to 15.[40] The Masalit self-defense groups quickly fell to the Janjaweed.[40] Battles between the Sudanese Alliance and the Janjaweed lasted for three and a half hours, during which civilians stated the Arab fighters went house to house, killing darker-skinned Masalit and shouting "Kill the slave, kill the slave!"[39][40]
Wounded civilians were brought to the Atik mosque, although Janjaweed stormed the place and shot at the wounded and those attending to them.[38][40] After killing several people, Arab fighters cheered "We killed thezorga! (a slur for black people)."[40] The Janjaweed also looted houses, farms, and shops, before burning down many neighborhoods.[40] The Misterei market was completely looted and torched.[39] Satellite imagery taken on June 3 showed the entire town burnt down.[40]Khamis Abakar, then governor ofWest Darfur, denounced the killings as "genocide".[51] He was soon afterexecuted by RSF militants for his statements on 14 June 2023.[11][12]
As of August 2023, there is an increasing amount of proof suggesting that the RSF is initiating a systematic purge based on ethnicity in Darfur. TheUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum has issued a warning about the potential escalation into a full-scale genocide.[52] On 10 November 2023,Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner, drew parallels between the ongoing violence and thegenocide in Darfur recognised by the U.S., where it is estimated that 300,000 people lost their lives from 2003 to 2005. He cautioned that a "similar dynamic might be unfolding."[53]
In October,Genocide Watch issued an alert concerning the situation in Sudan, explicitly characterizing the massacres performed by the Rapid Support Forces against the Masalit people as genocide.[9] This characterization was also shared by US academicEric Reeves, specialized in Sudan's human rights record,[10] andThe Economist.[54][8]
Josep Borrell, the chief of foreign policy for the European Union, expressed his strong condemnation of the killing of more than 1,000 individuals inArdamata. He has urgently appealed to the international community to take immediate action to avert a potential "genocide" in the area.[55]
The UK government,[56] witnesses and other observers described the violence in the region as tantamount toethnic cleansing or evengenocide, with non-Arab groups such as the Masalit being the primary victims.[57] Mujeebelrahman Yagoub, Assistant Commissioner for Refugees in West Darfur called the violence worse than theWar in Darfur in 2003 and theRwandan genocide in 1994.[58] The US government also condemned the atrocities, which Secretary of StateAntony Blinken described as genocide, and imposed sanctions against RSF leaderMohamed Hamdan Dagalo for his alleged role in the campaign.[59]
On March 6, 2025, the Sudanese government filed a case against theUnited Arab Emirates at theInternational Court of Justice accusing the United Arab Emirates of violating theGenocide Convention and being complicit in genocide and other crimes committed by the RSF on the Masalit.[60][61] Sudan accused the UAE of enabling the RSF's attacks on Masalit communities by providing them with political, military and financial support, and asked the court to halt the UAE's supply of arms to the militia.[62] The UAE denied the accusations.[63] In an official statement, the UAE described the case as "a cynical publicity stunt".[60] On 5 May 2025 the ICJ threw out the case, stating that it "manifestly lacked" jurisdiction to rule on the merits because the UAE had rejected its jurisdiction despite signing the Genocide Convention.[64]
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