UN Labels Darfur Violence 'Genocide' as Foreign Powers Fuel Both Sides
UN investigators aren't pulling punches anymore. They've officially labeled the RSF’s October 2025 takeover of el-Fasher as genocide, citing 6,000 deaths in just three days and a brutal campaign of sexual violence. But there's a flip side: the Sudanese military (SAF) is leveling cities with airstrikes, backed by Iran and Egypt, while the UAE keeps the RSF's coffers full. It's turned Sudan into a proxy war where 13 million people have lost their homes and foreign sponsors are keeping the stalemate alive.
UN investigators have officially documented genocidal acts in el-Fasher, but the tragedy is being kept on life support by a network of foreign powers funding both the RSF and the military.
This wasn't just the 'random excesses of war.' That’s the core of the UN mission's findings, with chairman Mohamad Chande Othman arguing that the el-Fasher operation was a sanctioned policy from the very top of the RSF leadership. Between October and December 2025, investigators tracked a nightmare: mass executionsLoaded Language and the systematic targeting of girls as young as seven. The streets were left littered with bodies. These details provide the legal teeth for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to move forward, but actually getting to a courtroom is another story. Geopolitical interests from the factions’ wealthy patrons are still blocking the path to justice.
The spotlight has been on the United Arab Emirates for a while now. Outlets like Middle East Eye have scrutinized the UAE for allegedly funneling cash and gear to the RSF—a claim the UAE keeps denying despite a mountain of evidence. But that’s only half the story. The internationally recognized government in Khartoum has its own lifelines, leaning harder and harder on Iranian-made drones and Egyptian military intelligence to hold the line. This tilt toward Tehran has made life difficult for Western diplomats. It’s no longer just a local civil war; it’s a regional power struggle where the SAF actually benefits politically from the 'genocide' label being slapped on its rivals.
“The scale, coordination, and public endorsement of the operation demonstrate that the crimes committed were not random excesses of war.”
The human cost is hard to wrap your head around. About 150,000 residents of el-Fasher are still missing, and 60,000 people are feared dead across the wider conflict. UN coordinator Denise Brown says the city is basically a 'crime sceneLoaded Language' packed with landmines and unexploded bombs. But here’s the thing: the SAF's own record during the siege is bloody. Their heavy shelling and airstrikes hammered civilian infrastructure and helped turn the town to rubble. If the international community only looks at the RSF's genocidal violence, they’re ignoring the scorched-earth tactics the military government is using to claw back territory.
Right now, the partition of Sudan between the SAF in Khartoum and the RSF in Nyala actually suits the people pulling the strings. Whether it's securing gold mining routes or gaining influence on the Red Sea, the UAE, Iran, and Egypt all have a stake in who comes out on top. That means the weapons aren't going to stop flowing, even with the UN's condemnation. For the people on the ground, the 'genocide' finding is a moral victory, but it doesn't have an enforcement mechanism. Millions are left to navigate a landscape of mines and mass graves while the rest of the world remains deadlocked over who has the right to step in.
Summary
UN investigators aren't pulling punches anymore. They've officially labeled the RSF’s October 2025 takeover of el-Fasher as genocide, citing 6,000 deaths in just three days and a brutal campaign of sexual violence. But there's a flip side: the Sudanese military (SAF) is leveling cities with airstrikes, backed by Iran and Egypt, while the UAE keeps the RSF's coffers full. It's turned Sudan into a proxy war where 13 million people have lost their homes and foreign sponsors are keeping the stalemate alive.
⚡ Key Facts
- A UN-backed fact-finding mission found that the RSF's capture of el-Fasher in late October 2025 bears the 'hallmarks of genocide'.
- Approximately 6,000 people were killed in the first three days following the RSF takeover of el-Fasher.
- The conflict has resulted in the displacement of 13 million people and the death of tens of thousands.
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) faces accusations of funding the RSF and complicity in genocide at the International Court of Justice.
- RSF forces targeted the Zaghawa community with mass executions and widespread sexual violence.
UN Labels Darfur Violence 'Genocide' as Foreign Powers Fuel Both Sides
Network of Influence
- The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the internationally recognized government, as the narrative delegitimizes their primary rival (RSF).
- Regional rivals of the UAE (such as Qatar or Turkey), who benefit from international scrutiny of Emirati foreign policy.
- UN and human rights organizations seeking to leverage public pressure for international intervention or justice.
- The report focuses on RSF atrocities, but the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have also been accused of indiscriminate aerial bombing of civilian areas in el-Fasher.
- The article mentions UAE support for the RSF but omits the complex support networks for the SAF, including reported help from Iran or Egypt.
- Middle East Eye has a documented history of critical coverage toward the UAE, which aligns with the specific emphasis on UAE complicity in this article.
The article centers the RSF as the sole perpetrator of genocidal violence while specifically highlighting the UAE's alleged complicity, using high-pathos victim testimony to validate the UN's 'genocide' designation.