Battle of Geneina

Battle of Geneina
	Part of the Darfur campaign of the War in Sudan
	; El Geneina market after being torched in late April.
Date	15 April 2023 – 22 June 2023 (2 months and 7 days); Clashes: 2 November 2023 - 9 November 2023 (1 week)
Location	Geneina (and surroundings), West Darfur, Sudan13°27′N 22°27′E
Result	RSF victory Initial clashes break out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces; Clashes devolve along ethnic lines by 25 April, with extremely heavy fighting for the city. A shaky ceasefire is held on 2 May.; Fighting resumes on 12 May and ends on 15 May, after RSF and aligned militias attack the city.; The city comes under siege by RSF and aligned militias by early June, and RSF forces control El Geneina by 22 June.; Geneina comes under rough clashes for 5 days after a large RSF victory in the city, but it stops. ;
Belligerents
Sudanese Armed Forces West Darfur Police; Masalit tribesmen; Joint Darfur Force Sudanese Alliance; Justice and Equality Movement; Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi; Gathering of Sudan Liberation Forces; ;	Rapid Support Forces Arab tribesmen; Rizeigat militiamen;
Commanders and leaders
Minni Minnawi; Khamis Abakar †; Abdel-Baqi al-Hassan Mohammed †	Abdel Rahman Jumma
Units involved
15th Infantry Division	Unknown
Strength
2,000	16,000
Casualties and losses
4+ killed; 17+ injured; 3+ captured	Unknown
	5,000+ civilians killed (between 24 April and 24 June); Up to 15,000 people killed (UN report); 370,000+ refugees
	Location within Sudan

The Battle of Geneina, also known as the Geneina massacre, was a battle for control of Geneina, the capital of West Darfur in Sudan, between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). By 25 April 2023, fighting intensified and devolved along tribal lines, with Masalit and non-Arab peoples supporting the SAF and the aligned Joint Darfur Force—consisting of former rebel groups including the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement—against the RSF and allied Arab militias.

Thousands of civilians and soldiers were killed after the fighting broke out, and humanitarian organizations have equated indiscriminate civilian killings throughout the battle to the Rwandan genocide. The Rapid Support Forces captured the city on 22 June, and reports emerged of ethnic cleansing of non-Arab civilians in the city. Over 1,000 bodies have been discovered in dozens of mass graves since August 2023, primarily of Masalit and Burgo civilians.

On 4 November 2023, the Rapid Support Forces reportedly captured a Sudanese Army headquarters in Geneina.

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