Sudan Updates 3/3/25 – 3/7/25: Severe Escalations in Darfur and Khartoum

The first week of March brought new devastation for the Sudanese people, particularly those residing in Darfur and Khartoum. The humanitarian crisis remains dire as civilians are purposely targeted, unprotected, and face imminent starvation by both the RSF and SAF as their clashes for territorial control intensify. 

 El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has been subject to intentional siege and repeated attacks from the RSF since the war started in early 2023. These terrifying and calculated attacks escalated in January with the paramilitary group attempting to seize control of the city. In February, an RSF attack on the famine-stricken Zamzam Refugee Camp in El Fasher left 8 dead, over 30 injured, and tens of thousands of people displaced with nowhere to go. The refugee camp has been turned into a battleground. The RSF continues its systematic targeting of Indigenous African tribes, committing horrifying crimes against those who have lived in the camp for over two decades and have nowhere to go, some of the most vulnerable of Sudan’s internally displaced population.

During the first week of March, the RSF attacked Darfur again with an escalated barbarity and cruelty, with a focus on the areas around El Fasher, Zamzam Refugee Camp, and Dar As Salaam.

• On March 2nd, the RSF targeted the Abu Shouk IDP Camp and Navaisha Market in El Fasher with artillery shelling, killing 6 civilians 
• On March 3rd, 3,500 civilians were displaced within North Darfur as a result of widespread, targeted RSF attacks. In El Fasher, the RSF is accused of attacking 52 villages and killing 15 people, raping women and children, burning villages, looting livestock and supplies, and burying water wells in the process. In Dar As Salaam, the RSF is accused of attacking 25 villages and killing civilians, burning villages, and looting, leaving people with no means of survival. 
• On March 5th, the RSF attacked the Abu Shouk IDP Camp again with artillery shelling, killing 6 more people and injuring at least 80. Additionally, the Sudan Doctors Network accused the RSF of killing 8 people and wounding 46 others in an attack on the villages of Abu Dilak and Um Ghubeisha in North Darfur.
• On March 7th, the United Nations reported that the humanitarian situation within Zamzam Refugee Camp has reached a breaking point. Due to heavy shelling on the camp, Doctors Without Borders ceased their operations. Amazingly, there has been a new initiative to start a local ambulance within the camp, speaking to the incredible resilience of the Sudanese people in the face of such violence. But this is not enough, there is an urgent need for humanitarian intervention in Darfur.

The sheer number of terrifying atrocities that have occurred in Darfur over the span of just a few days, demonstrates the urgency of the situation in Sudan and the alarmingly fast escalation of violence against civilians, with mass murders being reported nearly every day. It is unfathomable to consider that Darfur is experiencing a genocide right before our eyes and for a second time. 

The horrifying onslaught of violence was not limited to the Darfur region. Radio Dabanga reported on March 3rd, that 7 civilians had been killed by the SAF in a town in the North Kordofan region as they clashed with the RSF. Some of those killed or injured in the bombardment were also targeted by the RSF with gunfire, once again demonstrating the clear targeting of civilians by both parties and a disturbing lack of regard for international law. On March 5th, it was reported that a child was killed in the Omdurman area of Khartoum along with 5 others who were injured in artillery shelling by the RSF. In Khartoum, RSF attacks injured at least 15 people with live ammunition. It was additionally reported that the RSF has been using residential areas in Khartoum, east of the Nile, to hold detainees. 

On March 4th and March 6th, the UN released two reports on human rights violations in Sudan. In a devastating report on mass sexual violence, UNICEF revealed that armed militias have been raping hundreds of children, including some as young as one years old. There were 221 cases of rape against children reported since the start of 2024 but this number is likely a severe undercount. These instances are severe violations of international law and constitute war crimes. The second report detailed a pattern of human rights abuses by both the RSF and the SAF within detention centers in the state of Khartoum. Reports of torture included sexual violence, severe beatings, overcrowding, lack of sanitation, inadequate food and water, and the use of children as prison guards. There were also reports of discrimination from both the RSF and SAF based on ethnicity and perceived affiliation with the opposition. Unfortunately, these incidents are not limited to Khartoum as OHCHR has reported on a similar pattern occurring in the states of Darfur and Gezira. 

The first week of March brought unfathomable horrors for the Sudanese people, particularly those residing in Darfur and Khartoum. As the violence escalates, it becomes more urgent than ever that the international community steps in and puts an end to the suffering. These recent attacks are not isolated incidents. They are a part of the RSF’s deliberate and calculated policy of extermination and they require accountability and justice from the international community in response.

We cannot allow these international crimes to continue unhindered. 

We call on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the African Union, the United States, and the larger international community to take the following steps to end the suffering and save lives in Sudan:

• Swiftly authorize and deploy civilian protection forces to protect the innocent Sudanese people, particularly in Darfur; 
• Impose  criminal and financial accountability for all individuals and states complicit in committing past and present genocide and war crimes in Sudan;
• Demand that the warring parties immediately cease all attacks and strictly adhere to a permanent, verifiable ceasefire;
• Authorize urgent and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid for all in need across Sudan;
• Press the warring parties to stop the torture, murder, rape, and starvation of civilians as a strategy of war;
• U.S., UNSC, and allies must hold the regional and international enablers supplying weapons to the warring parties in Sudan accountable; 
• US and allies must cease the selling of arms to the UAE and prevent genocide in Sudan.

The people of Sudan have suffered for far too long. We urge you to call on our world leaders to take action in support of Sudan. The millions of vulnerable people facing imminent death in Sudan must not be ignored. 

With gratitude,

Niemat Ahmadi
President, Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG)
The DWAG Team