More than 60,000 people have fled the Sudanese city of El-Fasher after it fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over the weekend, according to the UN refugee agency.
The city’s capture follows an 18-month siege marked by starvation, indiscriminate shelling and reports of atrocities.
Witnesses have described scenes of terror as RSF fighters swept through the city, carrying out mass executions and sexual violence. “They were narrating horrendous stories of atrocities, including rape,” said Eujin Byun, spokesperson for the UNHCR. The agency is struggling to provide food and shelter for the influx of survivors heading to Tawila, a town 80 kilometres west of El-Fasher.
Every child arriving from the city is suffering from malnutrition, according to aid workers. It is estimated that about 150,000 civilians remain trapped in El-Fasher, once the army’s final stronghold in the Darfur region.
The RSF has denied accusations that the killings are ethnically motivated, despite a growing body of evidence suggesting a targeted campaign against non-Arab populations. In a rare move, the group announced the detention of one of its fighters, known as Abu Lulu, after BBC Verify identified him in footage showing the execution of unarmed men near the city. TikTok has since confirmed banning an account linked to him.
Sudan has been engulfed in civil war since April 2023, when tensions between the national army and the RSF spiralled into open conflict. The fighting has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced 12 million, triggering what the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
The fall of El-Fasher deepens the division of Sudan. The RSF now controls western Sudan and much of Kordofan, while the army retains the capital, Khartoum, and the eastern corridor along the Red Sea.
