In North Darfur State, a recent surge of grave crimes and systematic violations against civilians—particularly in Karnoi and the surrounding areas of Um Baru—has drawn strong condemnation from Women Journalists Without Chains.

The organization warned that these atrocities reflect a dangerous pattern of ethnically motivated massacres, further intensified by international inaction that risks enabling even greater horrors.

According to Women Journalists Without Chains, these violations are unfolding within the context of an ongoing armed conflict that began in April 2023. Repeated warnings issued by the United Nations, alongside extensive evidence, indicate the prevalence of identity-based killings, systematic sexual violence, forced starvation, and the deliberate destruction of healthcare and essential service infrastructure—acts that constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under both international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute.

Field investigations conducted by the organization, in coordination with local emergency units, medical facilities, and humanitarian sources, documented that during the last two weeks of December 2025, more than 300 civilians were killed on ethnic grounds in North Darfur. The perpetrators include the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias. Additional violations included the abduction of dozens of civilians with extortion through ransom demands, widespread looting of private property—including women’s clothing and children’s toys—and the targeted destruction of health and service facilities.

Women Journalists Without Chains emphasized that these actions constitute flagrant breaches of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Identity-based killings, forced displacement, deliberate starvation, and attacks on medical infrastructure entail individual criminal responsibility that cannot be shielded by rank or office. The organization called upon the international community to take urgent measures to investigate these crimes, ensure accountability, and prevent impunity, including referral of cases to the International Criminal Court.

The humanitarian consequences of these attacks are severe and widespread. Field reports indicate that over 6,500 families have been forcibly displaced from Um Baru since late December 2025, forced to survive outdoors amid critical shortages of food, water, and medicine. Health services in the region have collapsed, with the rural hospital in Um Baru rendered inoperative following looting and destruction, and the only local ambulance stolen. Women Journalists Without Chains warned of the imminent risk of epidemics due to inadequate shelter and lack of clean water, highlighting the disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable: children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, the sick, and pregnant women.

The organization holds the Rapid Support Forces directly accountable for these violations, noting that the use of allied militias to carry out killings, ethnic cleansing, and looting constitutes a compound crime that violates core humanitarian norms. Women Journalists Without Chains stressed that the expansion of these atrocities has been facilitated by persistent impunity and ongoing international silence, which embolden further attacks on civilians.

Women Journalists Without Chains called on the United Nations, the UN Security Council, the African Union, and the European Union to take immediate, decisive action commensurate with the scale and gravity of these crimes. Urgent measures must include:
•    Provision of effective international protection for civilians in North Darfur and Kordofan;
•    Establishment of safe humanitarian corridors to deliver food, medicine, and water;
•    Imposition of strict sanctions on states and entities supporting the RSF and its allied militias;
•    Formation of an independent international commission of inquiry to document violations and refer responsible parties to the International Criminal Court;
•    Immediate cessation of military operations and violations, along with protection and field access for journalists and humanitarian personnel.
Women Journalists Without Chains warned that further delay in international response risks an impending humanitarian catastrophe, potentially resulting in thousands of additional civilian deaths. The organization stressed that neutrality or reliance on statements of condemnation alone constitutes moral complicity. The ongoing crisis in North Darfur is not a localized emergency, but a profound test of the international community’s commitment to human rights and the protection of civilians.