Amnesty reports torture of civilians by RSF fighters in Sudan — The Rio Times

Human rights organization Amnesty International said that fighters of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces are carrying out unlawful detentions, torture, forced labor, and killings of civilians in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state. The Rio Times reports on the organization’s findings.

According to Amnesty, the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, captured El Fasher on October 26, 2025, after a prolonged siege. The paramilitary formation is fighting Sudan’s regular army in a conflict that began in April 2023.

Testimonies from residents and humanitarian workers

Amnesty International interviewed 25 people: 19 residents of El Fasher and six humanitarian workers. Seventeen of the 19 residents interviewed said they had been detained by RSF fighters. Witnesses described unlawful killings, torture, and forced labor.

The organization also said that members of the Zaghawa and Masalit ethnic communities were more frequently subjected to detention and ill-treatment. Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said that an atmosphere of fear prevails in El Fasher.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Humanitarian organizations cited by Amnesty estimate that fewer than 70,000 people remain in the city. Before the war, El Fasher’s population exceeded one million people.

Amnesty International’s demands

Human rights advocates called for the immediate release of people held without legal grounds and for an end to torture, unlawful killings, and forced labor. Amnesty also demands an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of international forces to protect civilians.

The organization called on states to stop supplying weapons to the parties to the conflict and to halt arms transfers to the United Arab Emirates until it, according to Amnesty, stops supplying weapons to the RSF in violation of the UN embargo on Darfur. Amnesty wrote to the RSF on October 9, 2026, but had received no response as of the publication of its findings.