The escalating atrocities perpetrated against children in Darfur represent a catastrophic escalation in the Sudanese conflict, necessitating immediate and decisive international intervention.

Field investigations and on-the-ground documentation have exposed a systematic campaign of child abductions orchestrated by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during offensive operations across the region. These violations were particularly acute during the fall of El Fasher in October 2025, marking a harrowing milestone in the violence that has ravaged the country since April 2023.

Testimony meticulously gathered from survivors and bereaved relatives reveals a chilling and recurring methodology: children are being abducted in the immediate aftermath of their parents' extrajudicial killings or during targeted raids on civilian centers. These accounts confirm that children are being subjected to forced labor and held for ransom—crimes that constitute grave violations of International Humanitarian Law. The scale and consistency of these acts indicate a coordinated policy of predation rather than incidental or rogue conduct.

A Reuters investigation published on January 30, 2026 reinforced these findings. Based on interviews with more than 26 witnesses, the investigation confirmed the abduction of at least 56 children, aged between two months and 17 years, across 23 documented incidents during RSF attacks in Darfur. These figures represent only the minimum confirmed cases, given security restrictions, limited access to certain areas, and ongoing displacement, suggesting the actual scale of violations is far greater.

Monitors reported that RSF members informed some families of their intent to force abducted children into herding livestock, while others were used as leverage for financial extortion. Such practices amount to slavery and human trafficking, crimes strictly prohibited under international law.

The abduction of children, the killing of their parents, and their forced labor or detention for extortion constitute flagrant violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Given their systematic and repeated nature, these acts may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) bear full and unconditional legal responsibility for the fate, as well as the physical and psychological integrity, of all abducted children. These atrocities are subject to no statute of limitations; they demand rigorous criminal accountability for all perpetrators, collaborators, and any entities providing direct or indirect support.

The international community is called upon to mobilize immediately to:

·      Compel the immediate disclosure of all abducted children’s locations and secure their unconditional release.

·      Guarantee the safe reunification of children with their families, ensuring full protection from further harm.

·      Mandate an urgent, independent international inquiry into the systematic patterns of abduction, enslavement, and extortion currently ravaging Darfur.

·      Accelerate the prioritization of these atrocities within the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ensure that command responsibility is addressed.

·      Institutionalize robust protection mechanisms to safeguard children and vulnerable civilian populations throughout the region.

Continued international inertia in the face of these grave violations—despite meticulous field documentation and corroboration by credible global investigations—represents a profound dereliction of legal and moral duty. Such inaction effectively grants perpetrators a de facto license for impunity, enabling the continued and systematic victimization of the region's most vulnerable.

Released by:

Women Journalists Without Chains

February 5, 2026