UAE-Backed RSF Militia's Genocide Against the Masalit Tribe in Darfur

Massacres are not new in Sudan, where the ongoing civil war between the military and the Emirati-backed RSF militia has claimed the lives of thousands of civilians. 

However, a particularly tragic chapter is unfolding in Darfur, where the Massalit tribe faced a genocide in 2023.

Harrowing testimonies and reports have emerged, accusing the RSF militia, with alleged Emirati backing, of killing, burning, and raping members of the tribe. 

This has led Sudan to file a request on March 6,  2025 to pursue legal action against the UAE at the International Court of Justice.

Sudanese authorities accuse the UAE of fueling the war in their country by backing the RSF militia.

Since April 2023, the Sudanese military and the RSF militia have been locked in a brutal conflict, leaving over 20,000 dead and nearly 15 million displaced, according to the United Nations and local authorities. However, a study by American universities estimates the death toll to be around 130,000.

Genocide Allegations 

On March 6, the International Court of Justice announced that Sudan had filed a request to bring a case against the UAE regarding allegations of violations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The case specifically pertains to the mistreatment of the Masalit people in Sudan, particularly in the western region of Darfur.

In its statement, the court added that Sudan's request concerns "acts committed by" the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias, including "but not limited to, genocide, murder, theft of property, rape, forcible displacement, damage to property, and human rights violations."

According to the statement, "all these acts were committed and facilitated through the direct support provided to the RSF militia and related militia groups by the United Arab Emirates."

Sudan’s request also pertains to “actions adopted, approved, and carried out by the Government of the United Arab Emirates concerning the genocide against the Masalit group in the Republic of Sudan since at least 2023.”

According to the statement, Sudan claims that the UAE is "complicit in the genocide against the Masalit by directing and providing extensive financial, political, and military support to the Rapid Support Forces militia."

It also noted that the plaintiff (Sudan) seeks to establish the court’s jurisdiction under Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Court’s Statute and Article 9 of the Genocide Convention, to which both Sudan and the UAE are parties.

Provisional Measures

According to the statement, Sudan requests the court to consider the following interim measures pending a final judgment in the case:

Firstly, "In accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, with respect to the Massalit in the Republic of Sudan, the United Arab Emirates is required to take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of any acts falling under Article II of this Convention, specifically:

(a) Killing members of the group.

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.

(c) Imposing living conditions intended to bring about its total or partial destruction.

(d) Enforcing measures aimed at preventing reproduction within the group."

Secondly, “The United Arab Emirates, with respect to members of the Massalit group, must ensure that no irregular armed units under its direction or support, nor any organizations or individuals subject to its control, direction, or influence, commit any acts described in point (1) above, or conspire to commit genocide, or directly and publicly incite genocide, or attempt to commit genocide, or engage in complicity in genocide.”

The court noted that, in accordance with Article 74 of the Court's Rules, a request for the indication of provisional measures takes precedence over all other matters. 

Geneina Massacre

The massacre against the Masalit tribe, allegedly backed and fueled by the UAE's support for the RSF militia, began on the very first day of the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia. 

On April 15, 2023, clashes erupted, initially concentrated in Khartoum, but quickly spread to other cities, notably to the town of Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state.

On April 24, the true tragedy unfolded around 7 a.m., when the RSF militia launched an assault on the city. 

Sudanese army soldiers quickly retreated to their base in the far northeastern corner of Geneina.

As they withdrew, the RSF militia turned their weapons on the residents of areas predominantly inhabited by the Masalit tribe.

According to a report by Reuters on September 22, 2023, some members of the RSF militia, their faces concealed, arrived on horseback, motorbikes, or in mud-covered Land Cruisers.

On the night of the attack, as recounted by eyewitnesses, the first bodies were buried in a forest graveyard. 

The flow of bodies continued, with 52 wrapped in blankets being transferred, including 27 men, 16 women, and nine children, who were laid in a row in freshly dug graves.

According to witnesses, the burial continued in the forest graveyard for more than seven weeks, from late April until mid-June 2023.

The rectangular plot of land transformed into a sprawling mass grave for no fewer than a thousand residents of Geneina, the vast majority of whom were from the Masalit tribe.

In the accounts of witnesses to the massacre, the bloodlust reached its peak, and Geneina became a "swamp of blood." One described the bloodshed during those days to the British agency as "Judgment Day."

They added that the danger remained relentless, to the point where they were unable to bury their dead immediately, as Islamic law mandates.

Ethnic Cleansing

In the wake of the massacre, human rights reports surfaced, documenting the horrific scale of violations committed against the Masalit tribe by the RSF militia, a now-dominant military force empowered by UAE weapons and support.

A report by Human Rights Watch, published on August 17, 2023, revealed that “the RSF [militia], and its allied militias in Sudan raped dozens of women and girls est Darfur’s capital and those fleeing fighting in recent weeks.”

The report stated that "the attackers targeted people because they were of the Masalit ethnicity, and in some cases, because they were known activists."

It noted that the RSF militia’s attacks in Geneina had resulted in the deaths of at least thousands of people, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Tirana Hassan, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, stated, "The widespread atrocities committed in Geneina should serve as a stark reminder of the horrors that can occur in the absence of coordinated action. Governments, the African Union, and the United Nations must act to protect civilians."

"Targeting the Masalit ethnicity, with the presumed objective—at the very least—of forcing them to permanently flee the region, constitutes ethnic cleansing."

"The specific context in which the widespread killings took place also raises the possibility that the RSF militia and its allies had the intent to destroy the Masalit people, either in whole or in part, in at least West Darfur, which may suggest that genocide has occurred or is occurring there," she added.

On May 12, 2024, a panel of UN experts issued a preliminary report on the events, stating that between 10,000 and 15,000 people had been killed. Meanwhile, local lawyers have counted 18,000 dead and 7,000 missing.

Tribal Struggles

When asked about the Masalit people who were subjected to the massacre, it is noted that they are one of the most prominent and ancient tribes settled between western Sudan and eastern Chad, particularly in the state of West Darfur.

The Masalit have a rich history, having once been an independent sultanate with its own army and entity.

 They resisted both French and British colonialism, and their lands were divided under an agreement signed between France and England in 1920, with the Masalit eventually settling in the border region between Sudan and Chad.

The majority of the Masalit’s territory lies in the far west of Sudan, with a portion extending along the strip bordering the Republic of Chad.

The Masalit tribe and the inhabitants of their lands are Muslims, with at least 145,000 members of the Masalit scattered across Sudan, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The tribe speaks the Masalit language, which is widely spoken, and some also speak the Nilotic Desert language, in addition to Arabic.

At the turn of the century, the Masalit tribe was subjected to a genocide similar to the one they are enduring now, at the hands of the Janjaweed militia, which later evolved into the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.

In December 2003, the Masalit tribe issued a global appeal titled “From the Masalit Tribe of Sudan... A Plea for Survival.”

In this plea, they called upon the world's collective conscience to save them from the threat of genocide, displacement, and the forcible seizure of their lands.