The International Criminal Court (ICC) has said there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed in western Sudan, as the conflict in Darfur continues to devastate civilian populations.
Speaking before the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan cited harrowing evidence gathered from victims who fled to neighbouring Chad amid ongoing clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023.
“It is difficult to find appropriate words to describe the depth of suffering,” Ms Khan said.
Among the most “disturbing findings” emerging from the ICC’s renewed probe was the use of targeted sexual violence against women and girls of specific ethnicities. The court had previously investigated war crimes and genocide in Darfur, under a mandate from the UN Security Council dating back two decades.
The ICC launched its latest investigation in 2023 as Sudan descended into full-scale civil war. According to Ms Khan, the new evidence paints an “inescapable pattern of offending” and the Court is working to “translate such crimes into evidence for the court.”
In January 2025, the United States formally declared that the RSF and allied militias had committed genocide in the region. The RSF has rejected the accusation, characterising the violence as a “tribal conflict” in which it claims no involvement.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. UN reports say hospitals and aid convoys are under direct attack, while water and food supplies are being deliberately obstructed. The city of el-Fasher remains under siege by RSF forces, cutting off tens of thousands from life-saving assistance.
A cholera outbreak has spread across conflict zones, threatening already limited water resources. Famine conditions are worsening by the day, with the UN’s children’s agency Unicef reporting alarming malnutrition figures.
“Children in Darfur are being starved by conflict and cut off from the very aid that could save them,” said Sheldon Yett of Unicef, who noted that more than 40,000 children had been treated for severe acute malnutrition between January and May 2025—more than double the figure for the same period last year.
The war in Sudan has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced around 12 million in just two years. Yet the ICC’s deputy prosecutor cautioned that the crisis may not have reached its peak.
“We should not be under any illusion – things can still get worse,” Ms Khan warned.
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