M.I., a national of Sudan, of Masalit ethnicity (from Fagangta, western Darfur), requested international protection in France, claiming a fear of being exposed to persecution by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied Arab militias. He claimed that in 2003, his village was attacked by Janjaweed militias supported by the Sudanese armed forces. He fled with his family to the town of Misterei, where they settled, and due to the security situation they only returned to their former village in 2013. In 2018, the town of Misterei was targeted by Janjaweed militia attacks, when they again left the town, going to military camps and camps for internally displaced persons. In 2020, the city of Misterei was once again the target of attacks by the Janjaweed Arab militias, which prompted him to leave Sudan.

On 27 December 2024, the Office for Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) recognised subsidiary protection for the applicant and rejected the request for refugee protection. The applicant appealed this decision.

The National Court of Asylum (CNDA) noted that the historical, topographical, and toponymic explanations provided by the applicant established his origin in the West Darfur region and his membership in the Masalit ethnic group, whose language he spoke fluently.

The court relied on the EUAA Country of origin information report Sudan: Security Situation (11 February 2025) and on the Country Guidance: Sudan (23 June 2025) which indicated that the ongoing internal armed conflict, which erupted on 15 April 2023, has reactivated and exacerbated pre-existing ethnic antagonisms between the Masalit communities and the Arab groups now affiliated with the RSF, which have acquired control of a significant portion of the territory of West Darfur. The court further noted that the EUAA COI report Sudan – Country Focus (26 April 2024), noted large-scale massacres based on ethnic motivations against Masalit communities in West Darfur, in the towns of El Geneina, Sirba, Murnei, and Masterei, orchestrated by the RSF and allied Arab militias. This report concluded that the ethnic targeting of the Masalit community predates the outbreak of the conflict and is part of a territorial confrontation in Darfur between nomadic, landless populations and those who own land and are tied to a specific territory, a Dar, such as the Masalit ethnic group in Dar Masalit, which overlaps the borders of West Darfur.

The court noted that the sources documented serious and repeated attacks by government forces associated with allied Arab militias, commonly known as Janjaweed, targeting the Masalit community of Darfur, which several observers have described as ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Thus, the court concluded that the Masalit are currently subjected to persecution sufficiently serious and regular to be considered systematic in the territory of West Darfur, at the hands of the Sudanese Forces and Arab militias that control most of this territory, without the Sudanese authorities being able to grant effective protection to this ethnic group.

In the applicant’s case, the court found a well-founded fear of being subjected to persecution because of his ethnicity, without being able to avail himself of the protection of the Sudanese authorities. Therefore, it concluded that he was entitled to refugee status.