Key Facts
- Primary conflict period
- April 24 – June 22, 2023
- Ardamata garrison massacre
- Over 1,000 civilians and soldiers killed
- Governor killed
- West Darfur governor Khamis Abakar, June 14, 2023
- Post-governor massacre
- Thousands of Masalit slaughtered June 14–22
- Renewed clashes
- November 2023, RSF stormed Ardamata garrison
Strategic Narrative Overview
Between late April and mid-June 2023, RSF and Janjaweed fighters overran Masalit resistance, burning neighborhoods and IDP camps and leaving bodies in the streets. The killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abakar on June 14 triggered a mass slaughter of thousands of Masalit civilians through June 22. The RSF and allied militias captured all of Geneina by June 22. In November 2023, RSF forces stormed the Ardamata army garrison sheltering displaced civilians, massacring over 1,000 people.
01 / The Origins
When the broader 2023 Sudan conflict erupted on April 15 between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, initial clashes in Geneina dissipated by April 20. Fighting quickly devolved along ethnic lines as RSF and allied Arab and non-Masalit Janjaweed militias attacked Masalit neighborhoods, prompting Masalit civilians to form self-defense militias and align with the Sudanese Alliance, backed by some SAF elements, against the RSF-backed Arab militias.
03 / The Outcome
By June 22, 2023, the RSF and Janjaweed had eliminated all pockets of Masalit resistance and taken full control of Geneina. Thousands of Masalit civilians had been killed, many more fled toward Chad or sought refuge at the Ardamata garrison. That refuge proved temporary when renewed RSF attacks in November 2023 resulted in the fall of Ardamata and further mass killings, deepening the humanitarian catastrophe in West Darfur.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Side B
3 belligerents
Khamis Abakar (West Darfur Governor, killed June 14).
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.