By Laetitia Merhi
Lara Jameson, June 24, 2021
The UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan condemned recent displacement camp killings, warning that the war’s “darkest chapters” could still lie ahead.
As the Sudan war entered its third year on April 15th, 2025, the United Nations’ Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the conflict warned that the “darkest chapters” could still lie ahead. The mission’s chair, Mohamed Chande, condemned the rising ethnic violence and called for a return to international humanitarian law (IHL). This statement came after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed more than 100 people in the Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps near al-Fasher in Darfur. Mona Rishmawi, a member of the mission, said that deliberate attacks on civilians and medical workers amount to international crimes. She also reminded all states of their obligation to respect the 1949 Geneva Conventions, stating they should not finance the war.
The conflict in Sudan broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF in April 2023. It has triggered one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. The Sudanese people face extreme food, water, medicine, and fuel shortages. In October 2023, the UN Human Rights Council established the Fact-Finding Mission to investigate alleged human rights and IHL violations by the warring parties. Since then, the mission has found reasonable grounds to claim that both groups have committed war crimes, as well as crimes against humanity in the case of the RSF. The mission’s mandate has been extended until October 2025, when it is meant to present a report of its findings to the General Assembly.
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