The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has expressed deep concern over alarming testimonies and field reports—supported by investigative journalism, including reporting by Reuters—revealing the involvement of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) members in the abduction of dozens of children during attacks on towns and villages across Darfur, particularly following the group’s takeover of El‑Fashir in October, as well as during other scattered assaults throughout the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
According to testimonies based on interviews with more than twenty witnesses, RSF fighters abducted children—sometimes after killing their fathers—in acts that constitute grave violations amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Four verified accounts also confirmed that RSF members informed the families of abducted children that the children would be forced into compulsory labor, particularly in herding livestock.
CFJ’s monitoring indicates that at least 56 children, ranging in age from two months to 17 years, have been abducted following the killing of their relatives or during armed attacks on residential areas. Some of these children were subjected to forced labor, while others were used as leverage for extortion, with families pressured to pay money for their release.
CFJ affirms that the abduction of children, the killing of their relatives, and their forced labor or detention for financial exploitation constitute some of the most serious violations of international humanitarian law, and represent a flagrant breach of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which absolutely prohibits the recruitment, exploitation, or exposure of children to any form of violence, abuse, or enslavement.
The committee strongly condemns these systematic crimes against children in Darfur and holds the Rapid Support Forces fully legally responsible for the safety and wellbeing of the abducted children.
CFJ calls for the immediate disclosure of the whereabouts of all abducted children and their unconditional release, ensuring their reunification with their families. The committee further urges the launch of urgent and independent international investigations into these violations, full accountability before international justice mechanisms, and the implementation of immediate protection measures for children and civilians across the Darfur region.
