A damning new Amnesty International report has accused Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing crimes against humanity, as Britain spearheads a diplomatic drive for United Nations sanctions. The findings, published this morning, detail systematic attacks on civilians in the Darfur region, including mass killings, torture, and sexual violence. For the families caught in this conflict, the report is a stark reminder of the horrors that ordinary people endure when power goes unchecked.
The RSF, a paramilitary group born from the Janjaweed militias of the early 2000s, has been locked in a brutal power struggle with the Sudanese army since April 2023. But while the world’s attention has been on Ukraine and Gaza, the violence in Sudan has spiralled into what the UN calls one of the worst humanitarian crises in decades. Amnesty’s evidence suggests the RSF’s campaign is not random but deliberate: a calculated strategy to terrorise communities and seize control of territory.
For the people of Darfur, this is a reopening of old wounds. I spoke to a teacher in El Geneina, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals. “We thought the world had learned,” she said, her voice trembling over a crackling phone line. “But here we are again. The same faces, the same blood, the same silence from those who could stop it.” Her words echo the frustration of millions who feel abandoned by international powers.
Britain, however, is now taking a leading role. Foreign Secretary David Lammy has instructed diplomats to table a resolution at the UN Security Council seeking sanctions on RSF commanders. In a statement, he said: “These are not just allegations. This is systematic brutality. The UK will not look away.” But the path to sanctions is fraught. Russia, a permanent Security Council member with close ties to Sudan’s military, has already signalled opposition. And China, keen to protect its investments in Sudanese oil, remains ambivalent.
Yet the cost of inaction is measured in lives. More than 10,000 people have been killed since the conflict began, according to conservative estimates. Over 7 million are displaced. And the RSF’s siege of towns like Nyala has cut off food and medicine, pushing children to the brink of starvation. As one aid worker put it: “This isn’t a slow-burn crisis. It’s an inferno that the world is walking past.”
For Labour MPs on the backbenches, the government’s push is welcome but overdue. Diane Abbott, a long-time campaigner on Sudan, told me: “The UK cannot claim moral leadership on human rights while complicit in this inaction. We must act now, not when the bodies are cold.” The government insists it is moving as fast as diplomatic channels allow.
But for the teacher in El Geneina, what matters is not the speed of speeches but the surge of action. “Sanctions won’t bring back my neighbours,” she said. “But they might stop the next killing. That is enough. That is everything.”
The UN Security Council is expected to debate the British draft resolution next week. Whether it passes or is vetoed, the report will remain a scar on the conscience of a world that promised “never again” – and forgot.
