Changes

Sudan's 2023 civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF reignited Darfur-specific atrocities. The RSF's expansion into Darfur territories has been marked by ethnic cleansing, with fighters explicitly targeting non-Arabs based on identity, often using racial slurs and declaring intentions to "cleanse" areas of "slaves" or "Africans."<ref name="state-dept">{{Cite web |title=Genocide Determination in Sudan and Imposing Accountability Measures |url=https://2021-2025.state.gov/genocide-determination-in-sudan-and-imposing-accountability-measures/ |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=2025-01-07}}</ref> This phase is distinguished by the RSF's use of social media to document and celebrate killings, amplifying the terror.

Sudan's 2023 civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF reignited Darfur-specific atrocities. The RSF's expansion into Darfur territories has been marked by ethnic cleansing, with fighters explicitly targeting non-Arabs based on identity, often using racial slurs and declaring intentions to "cleanse" areas of "slaves" or "Africans."<ref name="state-dept">{{Cite web |title=Genocide Determination in Sudan and Imposing Accountability Measures |url=https://2021-2025.state.gov/genocide-determination-in-sudan-and-imposing-accountability-measures/ |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=2025-01-07}}</ref> This phase is distinguished by the RSF's use of social media to document and celebrate killings, amplifying the terror.

## Key events

==Key events==

### 2023: Renewed massacres in El Geneina

===2023: Renewed massacres in El Geneina===

In mid-2023, as the civil war spread to Darfur, RSF forces and allied Arab militias launched coordinated attacks on non-Arab communities in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. Between April and June, an estimated 5,000 civilians—mostly Masalit—were killed in house-to-house raids, with survivors reporting fighters shouting ethnic epithets and systematically executing men and boys.<ref name="reuters-sept">{{Cite web |title=The Slaughter of El Geneina |url= (implied from context; full URL not provided in source) |publisher=Reuters |date=2023-09-22}}</ref><ref name="reuters-apr"/> Sexual violence was rampant, with women and girls raped as a tool of subjugation, consistent with patterns of Arab racist domination.<ref name="state-dept"/>

In mid-2023, as the civil war spread to Darfur, RSF forces and allied Arab militias launched coordinated attacks on non-Arab communities in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. Between April and June, an estimated 5,000 civilians—mostly Masalit—were killed in house-to-house raids, with survivors reporting fighters shouting ethnic epithets and systematically executing men and boys.<ref name="reuters-sept">{{Cite web |title=The Slaughter of El Geneina |url= (implied from context; full URL not provided in source) |publisher=Reuters |date=2023-09-22}}</ref><ref name="reuters-apr"/> Sexual violence was rampant, with women and girls raped as a tool of subjugation, consistent with patterns of Arab racist domination.<ref name="state-dept"/>

The violence displaced over 300,000 people, many fleeing to Chad, where refugees described RSF checkpoints where non-Arabs were separated and killed.<ref name="reuters-apr"/> Genocide Watch labeled these acts as the onset of a "new genocide," citing the intent to destroy non-Arab groups through killings and preventing returns via land seizures by Arab settlers.<ref name="reuters-apr"/>

The violence displaced over 300,000 people, many fleeing to Chad, where refugees described RSF checkpoints where non-Arabs were separated and killed.<ref name="reuters-apr"/> Genocide Watch labeled these acts as the onset of a "new genocide," citing the intent to destroy non-Arab groups through killings and preventing returns via land seizures by Arab settlers.<ref name="reuters-apr"/>

### 2024: Escalation and international recognition

===2024: Escalation and international recognition===

Throughout 2024, RSF advances in Darfur intensified, with atrocities in towns like Tawila and Sortony. Reports documented the beheading of non-Arab leaders and the burning of villages, framed by perpetrators as "Arab reclamation" of Fur lands.<ref name="reuters-apr"/> In April 2024, Reuters reported thousands killed in RSF sweeps, with evidence of mass graves in El Geneina.<ref name="reuters-apr"/>

Throughout 2024, RSF advances in Darfur intensified, with atrocities in towns like Tawila and Sortony. Reports documented the beheading of non-Arab leaders and the burning of villages, framed by perpetrators as "Arab reclamation" of Fur lands.<ref name="reuters-apr"/> In April 2024, Reuters reported thousands killed in RSF sweeps, with evidence of mass graves in El Geneina.<ref name="reuters-apr"/>