Speaking during a press conference at the Sudanese Embassy in Kigali, Dafalla called on the international community to designate the RSF as a terrorist organisation, enforce arms embargoes, and hold foreign backers accountable for fueling what he described as a “foreign aggression” against the Sudanese people.
“What is going on in Sudan is not a civil war; what is going on in Sudan is not a war between two generals, it is a war ignited by RSF supported by foreign powers,” Dafalla declared.
“In Al-Fashir alone, in 24 hours, they killed 3,000 people, including patients in hospital beds. They buried people alive, smashed bones under vehicle tires, and used rape and hunger as weapons of war.”
The ambassador’s statement comes amid mounting reports of mass killings following the RSF’s capture of Al-Fashir after a gruelling 600-day siege, the last major Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) stronghold in Darfur.
Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab has documented satellite imagery showing clusters of bodies and bloodstained ground, corroborating survivor accounts of house-to-house executions targeting non-Arab ethnic groups like the Zaghawa and Masalit.
Dafalla, who praised Rwanda’s 2003 peacekeeping role in Darfur and its post-genocide reconciliation model as an “inspired African success,” drew stark parallels to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
“The same symptoms are repeating themselves in Sudan,” he said. “Genocide has been committed in Darfur, not just our claim, but recognised by the U.S. administration and others as crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing.”
Videos played during the briefing, reportedly filmed by RSF fighters, showed executions in hospitals and civilians being herded into mass graves, footage that left attendees visibly shaken.
The World Health Organisation has confirmed at least 460 deaths at Al-Fashir’s Saudi Hospital alone, including patients, staff, and visitors gunned down in their beds. Survivors fleeing to nearby Tawila have recounted ethnic profiling, with men separated and shot, women assaulted, and families ransomed for up to $10,000.
The RSF, which evolved from the notorious Janjaweed militias blamed for the early 2000s Darfur genocide, has denied systematic abuses, with leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) promising investigations into “violations.” Yet, the paramilitary’s advance has displaced over 900,000 people from Al-Fashir in recent weeks, contributing to Sudan’s staggering total of 14 million internally displaced, equivalent to Rwanda’s entire population.
The briefing also highlighted broader RSF tactics: 102 recorded massacres across Sudan, infrastructure sabotage (including drone strikes on the Marawi and Addamazine dams, crippling a third of the nation’s power), and control of gold mines fueling 50% of Sudan’s smuggled production.
“They’re killing by identity, believing in Arab superiority, calling African tribes ‘slaves’—falangai in their language,” Amb. Dafalla explained.
On the diplomatic front, Dafalla welcomed U.S. efforts via the “Quad” (U.S., Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE) but rejected UAE involvement as “non-neutral,” insisting on Sudan’s full consent for any ceasefire.
He urged the African Union to lift Sudan’s suspension, enabling fuller participation in “African solutions for African problems,” and called for Rwanda’s support in pressuring neighbours to close arms corridors.
“Justice is not served by condemnations alone. The victims feel betrayed. Hold the RSF accountable, or the genocide continues.”
The ambassador emphasised that, in efforts to de-escalate the crisis, the African Union had announced Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni as a mediator to facilitate a peace process. However, Ambassador Dafalla said the AU had failed to deliver on its mission of restoring security in Sudan and, for many reasons, looked to Rwanda as a potential mediator capable of making a tangible impact.
He noted that influential African leaders, such as President Paul Kagame, are well-positioned to use established continental frameworks to help mediate and resolve the Sudanese conflict.
“Kagame has credibility, the confidence of the Sudanese people, experience, and wisdom to address this conflict in Sudan. We will definitely welcome his efforts in this regard, whether through the African Union or any group of African leaders coming to mediate in Sudan,” the ambassador added.
Sudan’s crisis, the world’s largest humanitarian emergency, has killed tens of thousands and risks partitioning the nation. With Al-Fashir’s fall, fears mount of a Darfur-wide ethnic catastrophe, unless bold international action intervenes.
