A coalition of legal, investigative and civil society organizations asked the International Criminal Court to investigate whether foreign officials and intermediaries helped enable alleged atrocity crimes in Darfur. The filing, submitted on a Monday and reported in the context of June 29, 2026, focused principally on alleged support for the Rapid Support Forces while also addressing assistance linked to the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Led by the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, the coalition filed an Article 15 communication, a procedure allowing organizations to provide information to the ICC prosecutor in hopes of prompting an investigation. It urged scrutiny under Articles 25(3)(c) and 25(3)(d) of the Rome Statute, which concern aiding, abetting or knowingly contributing to crimes committed by a group pursuing a common purpose.
The submission accused foreign actors of providing arms, mercenaries, equipment, logistics and financing that allegedly enabled war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It named the United Arab Emirates and referred to officials or intermediaries from Libya, Ethiopia, Chad, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda in connection with alleged RSF support. The coalition did not publicly disclose the identities of the officials named in its filing.
It also referred more broadly to Iran, Türkiye and Egypt in relation to alleged crimes by the Sudanese army. These remain allegations presented to prosecutors rather than judicial findings of responsibility.
Routes and responsibility disputed
An annex reportedly mapped suspected RSF supply lines beginning at airports in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah, then passing through hubs in Chad, Libya and Ethiopia. The filing associated heightened transfers with the period from April 2023 onward and said the routes carried military and other forms of support to forces commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected claims that it available military or financial assistance to any warring party in Sudan. A lieutenant from Libya’s Subul Al-Salam Battalion also denied cooperation between Haftar’s forces and the RSF, calling the allegations rumors intended to provoke conflict between the Sudanese and Libyan armies. The RSF denied maintaining training camps outside Sudan; a spokesperson for the RSF-aligned “Ta’sis” government said all its camps were inside the country.
The ICC has jurisdiction over Darfur through a 2005 referral by the UN Security Council. Middle East Eye reported that this could theoretically permit cases against people of any nationality for crimes committed there, although evidence gathering and cooperation could be difficult where a state has not ratified the court’s founding treaty.
The ICC deputy prosecutor had confirmed that the office was investigating atrocities committed in Darfur since April 2023, but had not yet opened an investigation into foreign complicity, according to the report. No arrest warrants had been requested for Sudanese nationals over the current conflict. The prosecutor’s office was prioritizing gender-based crimes and offenses against or affecting children.
The coalition’s communication does not itself establish guilt or require the court to open a case. It supplies allegations and supporting material for prosecutorial consideration while seeking to extend accountability inquiries beyond battlefield participants to the external networks accused of sustaining Sudan’s war.
