In a dramatic turn of events in the ongoing conflict in El Fasher — the capital of North Darfur — the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced that it had taken full control of the city following an 18-month siege that left tens of thousands of civilians trapped. The advance underscores not only a major victory for the RSF in its long-running war against the regular Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), but also sharpens fears the country may be sliding toward partition.
The SAF implicitly conceded the city’s fall when its leader, Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan, confirmed his troops had withdrawn “to a safer location”. Meanwhile, RSF statements described the takeover as “extending control over the city of El Fasher from the grip of mercenaries and militias”.
Since securing the city, the RSF is accused of mounting a savage campaign of killings, detentions, and ethnic‐targeted violence. According to the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, the level of violence equates with the first 24 hours of the Rwandan genocide. The lab’s satellite image analysis reportedly shows clusters consistent with adult human bodies and “red discoloration” of the ground, while videos analysed by UN and human-rights experts show scores of unarmed men surrounded by RSF fighters.
Ethnic communities indigenous to Darfur — the Fur, Zaghawa and Berti — appear to have borne the brunt of the RSF’s assault, which the Yale team describes as a “systematic and intentional process of ethnic cleansing” via forced displacement and summary executions. Reports also say that the RSF has been detaining civilians in El Fasher and releasing them only after ransom payments, a tactic already seen in previous RSF-controlled cities.
Media access and communications in Darfur remain tightly restricted, making independent verification of many events difficult. The region is under a media blackout, with few international journalists allowed in and many residents cut off entirely. Much of the documented evidence comes from geolocated videos shared by the RSF and other actors, eyewitness testimony, and satellite imagery.
The roots of the conflict trace back to the RSF’s formation in 2013 from the remnants of the Janjaweed militias, which had been deployed under the former leader Omar al‑Bashir to suppress rebellion in Darfur. That earlier campaign resulted in the deaths of up to 300 000 people. The civil war between the RSF and SAF erupted in April 2023, following a power struggle between the two, and swiftly engulfed much of Sudan.
International responses have so far failed to halt the bloodshed. A London‐hosted conference earlier this year brought together more than 17 governments, the European Union and the African Union, aiming to build a consensus for peace and aid. But critics argue some participating nations may have had stakes in the conflict themselves — notably, accusations that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) supplied arms to the RSF, which the UAE denies.
As the RSF consolidates its hold over major Darfur cities and the SAF cedes ground, analysts warn that Sudan faces a very real possibility of fragmentation. The fall of El Fasher not only marks a strategic shift in control, but deepens humanitarian crisis and raises urgent questions about the international community’s capacity to stop war crimes and protect vulnerable civilians.
