UK police handed dossier of war crimes committed by RSF in Sudan

A dossier of evidence documenting war crimes committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan has been handed to British police. 

A 142-page file was handed to the Metropolitan Police's war crimes unit, documenting killings, torture and sexual violence committed by the RSF during Sudan's ongoing civil war, the Guardian reported on Monday. 

It was compiled by a London-based group of lawyers with a specialism in international law and directed to SO15, the Met's counterterrorism unit.

The RSF has been at war with the Sudanese army since April 2023. The conflict has killed thousands, displaced more than 10 million people and left over 12 million facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

Last year an independent enquiry carried out by the Raoul Wallenberg Centre found that there is “clear and convincing evidence” that the RSF and its allied militias “have committed and are committing genocide against the Masalit”, a Black African community. 

West Darfur state was the site of intense ethnic-based attacks by the RSF and its allied Arab militias against the Masalit in 2023. 

The United States has also accused the RSF of genocide, and sanctioned its leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo - widely known as Hemeti - for his role in "systematic atrocities". 

The dossier submitted to the Met police stated: “Direct and circumstantial evidence makes it clear that the RSF leadership either knew, or at least should have known, that the war crimes were being committed by the RSF in Darfur. Therefore, they have a case to answer under international criminal and humanitarian law.” 

Howard Morrison, a former judge at the International Criminal Court, lent his support to the submission.

'A novel approach'

“The novel approach through the highly regarded offices of SO15 adds great impetus to the potential accountability of those responsible for the atrocities that have been visited upon numerous victims in Darfur,” Morrison said. 

Lucia Brieskova, the lead lawyer, said: "We believe this submission will contribute to the fight against impunity suffered by many in Darfur in Sudan."

In the coming days, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will decide whether it has jurisdiction in a case brought by Sudan's government accusing the United Arab Emirates of complicity in genocide.

Khartoum says that the UAE has violated the Genocide Convention through financial and military support of the RSF. 

The UAE denies aiding the paramilitary group, and believes that the ICJ does not have jurisdiction in the case due to the Gulf state's opting out of Article Nine of the Genocide Convention. 

Sudan's government accuses the RSF and allied militias of perpetrating genocide, murder, theft, rape and forcible displacement. 

A recent report by Amnesty International found that the RSF had inflicted widespread sexual violence on women and girls during the country's ongoing civil war, including rape, gang-rape, and sexual slavery.

Middle East Eye has reported previously on how women across the Darfur region - some as young as 12 - have been the victims of sexual assault perpetrated by men wearing RSF uniforms.

Last year, a report by the UN's independent international fact-finding mission for Sudan found that both warring parties had committed a range of war crimes.