The Second Darfur Genocide: 70,000–145,000 (apr 15, 2023 – jan 1, 2026)

Description:

The Second Darfur Genocide (also known as the Darfur Genocide 2023-present or Masalit Genocide) is being carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF, a paramilitary group formed in 2013 from the Janjaweed militia) and allied Arab militias against non-Arab ethnic groups in Darfur, primarily the Masalit, Zaghawa, and Fur peoples between April 15, 2023 (start of civil war between RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces) and present day (ongoing as of December 2025), with an estimated death toll between 15,000 (lower estimates for specific massacres like the June 2023 Geneina massacre alone) and tens of thousands (Wikipedia reporting "tens of thousands of people, mostly non-Arab civilians" killed in El Fasher massacre in October 2025 alone, with total deaths across all Darfur likely exceeding 50,000-100,000 based on multiple major massacres).

The RSF and allied Arab militias also engage in systematic massacres targeting non-Arab civilians (including the Geneina massacre in June 2023 killing over 15,000 Masalit civilians, massacres in Misterei, Sirba, and Murnei killing hundreds each, the Ardamata massacre in November 2023 killing thousands of Masalit civilians and Sudanese army defenders, multiple massacres at Abu Shouk and Zamzam refugee camps near El Fasher April-August 2025 killing hundreds, and the El Fasher massacre in October 2025 killing tens of thousands particularly targeting Zaghawa people), mass rape and sexual violence used as a weapon of genocide, forced displacement and ethnic cleansing (hundreds of thousands of Masalit displaced into Chad, hundreds of thousands of refugees besieged in El Fasher before its fall), torture and mutilation, arbitrary executions, village burning and destruction, looting and confiscation of property, denial of humanitarian aid and siege warfare (tightening siege of El Fasher cutting off food and medical supplies to hundreds of thousands), targeting of civilians in refugee camps, use of racial epithets during attacks, destruction of food and water supplies, systematic targeting based on ethnic identity, hunting down of fleeing refugees, and complete destruction of non-Arab communities in West Darfur and other Darfuri states.

It has been labeled as genocide by the United States Department of State (January 2025 determination that RSF is committing genocide in Sudan), Genocide Watch (which monitors and recognizes the ongoing genocide), American academic and Sudan expert Eric Reeves (who has extensively documented the genocide), the Holocaust Museum Houston (which recognizes the ongoing Second Darfur Genocide), genocide scholars who characterize RSF actions as meeting all criteria for genocide under the UN Genocide Convention, international human rights organizations monitoring the crisis, and survivors and witnesses who describe systematic targeting of non-Arab populations for extermination based on ethnic identity.

The classification as genocide has achieved significant international recognition including formal U.S. government determination, making this one of the few ongoing genocides officially recognized by a major power. However, international response has been limited, with no military intervention to stop the killing, and the RSF and its leaders have not been prosecuted by the International Criminal Court despite clear evidence of genocidal intent and actions.

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