The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor announced on Monday that his office will pursue arrest warrants for individuals accused of atrocities in Sudan’s West Darfur region, where reports of ethnic cleansing by paramilitary forces have emerged during the country’s 19-month-long conflict.
Karim Khan told the UN Security Council on Monday that “criminality is accelerating in Darfur” and emphasised the need for justice and accountability.
“Civilians are being targeted, women and girls are subjected to sexual violence, and entire communities are left in destruction,” he said. “This is not just an assessment; it is a hard-edged analysis based on verified evidence.”
Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions, including the vast western Darfur region.
Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes two decades ago, particularly by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias, against populations that identify as Central or East African. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million forced to flee their homes.
The ICC prosecutor told the council on Monday that the current conflict bears “very clear echoes” to the events that occurred 20 years ago in Darfur.
“The pattern of crimes, the perpetrators, the parties, tracked very closely with the same protagonists, the same targeted groups as existed in 2003,” Khan said.
“It’s the same communities, the same groups suffering, a new generation suffering the same hell that has been endured by other generations of Darfuris, and this is tragic.”
Khan told the council earlier this month there were grounds to believe that both government forces and the RSF, which was born out of the Janjaweed, may be committing war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.
The Biden administration, shortly before it left office this month, determined that the RSF and its proxies are committing genocide in Sudan’s civil war.
Gender-based violence is ‘a priority’
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report last May that the RSF and allied militias carried out attacks on the ethnic Masalit and other non-Arab groups in West Darfur’s El Geneina from April to June 2023, with violence intensifying in November.
According to HRW, thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced during the attacks.
“I can confirm today that my office is taking the necessary steps to put forward applications for warrants of arrest in relation to crimes we allege are being committed and have been committed in West Darfur,” Khan told the council.
Khan stated that his office is particularly concerned about allegations of gender-based crimes against women and girls, calling them a “priority” for ICC investigations.
He described a worsening humanitarian crisis over the last six months, with famine, escalating conflict, sexual abuse of girls and women, and widespread destruction ravaging Darfur.
Addressing those involved in the violence, Khan urged: “Now, better late than never, for goodness sake, comply with international humanitarian law, not as a charity, not out of some political necessity, but out of the dictates of humanity.”
- US says Sudan’s RSF is committing genocide and sanctions its leader
- Death toll from tribal violence in Sudan’s West Darfur region rises to 83
Khan also revealed that his office is engaging with the RSF to gather relevant information for its investigations.
Members of his team met with RSF representatives last week, and Khan emphasised the need for “swift and meaningful action,” stating he would closely monitor developments.
