Amnesty: RSF committed war crimes in Sudan’s Zamzam camp

Sudan’s renegade paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) deliberately killed civilians, abducted people, looted property, and destroyed mosques, schools and health clinics during a large-scale assault on the Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur in April, Amnesty International said in a new report published on Tuesday.

The report, 'A refuge destroyed: RSF violations in Darfur’s Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons', sets out detailed accounts of violations in one of Sudan’s largest camps for internally displaced people. 

According to Amnesty, the RSF attacked the camp between 11 and 13 April 2025, using explosive weapons and firing indiscriminately in densely populated residential areas.

The assault triggered the mass displacement of around 400,000 people between 13 and 14 April alone and formed part of the RSF’s wider campaign, launched in May 2024, to seize El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which it ultimately captured in October.

"Civilians were ruthlessly attacked, killed, robbed of items critical to their survival and livelihood, and left without recourse to justice, while grieving the loss of their loved ones," said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

"This was not an isolated attack, but part of a sustained campaign against villages and camps for internally displaced persons," she added.

Drawing on testimonies from eyewitnesses, survivors, relatives of victims, journalists, conflict analysts and medical staff, Amnesty said shells struck homes, streets and, in one case, an area near a mosque during a wedding ceremony - all packed with civilians - killing and injuring residents and setting homes ablaze.

Satellite imagery from 16 April that was analysed by Amnesty shows fresh craters, further indicating widespread use of explosive weapons.

Survivors told Amnesty they fled burning neighbourhoods and hid from heavy fighting. Witnesses also reported that RSF fighters shot and killed at least 47 civilians, including people hiding inside homes, fleeing violence, sheltering at a clinic and seeking refuge in a mosque.

Amnesty obtained video evidence and eyewitness accounts, which suggested that the RSF targeted civilians they believed were linked to the Joint Forces, an alliance of former Darfur rebel groups fighting alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), or with the SAF itself.

The report accuses the RSF of looting and setting fire to homes, market stalls, businesses, and structures within the Sheikh Farah school and mosque compound, causing severe damage to essential civilian infrastructure.

An estimated 700,000 people had been sheltering in Zamzam when the April attacks took place.

At least 400 civilians, including women and children, were killed in Zamzam and neighbouring Um Kadada, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Callamard also said "some international partners, such as the UAE, actively fuelled the armed conflict by supporting the RSF with weapons".

She called for the existing arms embargo on Darfur to be expanded nationwide, urging AU, EU and IGAD member states - along with the UK, US, Russia and China - to pressure all governments allegedly involved, particularly the UAE, to halt weapons transfers to the RSF, the SAF and any other armed groups.

She added that "states must immediately cease all arms transfers to the UAE" due to the high risk of diversion. The UAE has repeatedly denied supplying arms to the RSF.

Amnesty’s findings on Zamzam follow a previous report documenting atrocities committed by the RSF during its seizure of El-Fasher, where fighters allegedly executed dozens of unarmed men, raped women and girls, and held civilians hostage for ransom.

Global focus on Sudan has sharpened since the RSF’s capture of El-Fasher, prompting renewed warnings of mass atrocities and possible genocide.

The city was the army’s final stronghold in the Darfur region. On Monday, the RSF claimed it had taken full control of Babanusa, a transport hub in Sudan’s oil-producing south- a claim disputed by the Sudanese army.

The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese army for more than two years, with the paramilitary group acknowledging that some of its fighters committed violations and pledged an investigation.

Sudan’s war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million, creating the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.

Meanwhile, international efforts have intensified in recent weeks.

In November, US President Donald Trump said he would intervene to stop the conflict, which began in April 2023.

Earlier in the month, the US, UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia - known as the Quad - proposed a three-month ceasefire followed by political talks. Although the RSF initially accepted the plan, it soon launched drone strikes on army positions.