The Paramilitary RSF In Sudan Has Seized The Army’s Last Stronghold In The West, Forcing Thousands To Flee
For 18 months, RSF has been besieging El Fahser and killing dozens of unarmed civilians.
Thousands of Sudanese are now fleeing El Fasher city in Sudan on foot after the paramilitary militia the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took over the city, following 18 months of siege.
Since 2023, Sudan has been in a brutal war due to a power struggle between the Sudanese military and RSF that has killed up to 150,000 people, including thousands of children.
El Fasher was the Sudanese military’s last stronghold in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
For the past 18 months, RSF has been besieging El Fahser, where more than 250,000 people live, while fighting the Sudanese army, with reports of killings, humiliation, rape and starvation of civilians.
On Sunday, Oct. 26, RSF captured the army headquarters, specifically the 6th Infantry Division base.
RSF's takeover of El Fasher represents a critical shift in control, as it now govern all five state capitals in Darfur, solidifying their dominance over the region.
The Sudan Doctors Network said in a statement RSF fighters killed dozens of unarmed civilians with “ethnic motivations.”
The RSF also looted hospitals and other medical facilities in El Fasher, “destroying what remained of essential life-supporting and health care infrastructure,” Sudan Doctors Network reported.
The Darfur Network for Human Rights said the RSF detained more than 1,000 civilians, including six healthcare workers and journalist Muammar Ibrahim, who was reporting on the conflict.
More than 26,000 people had fled their homes as of Monday, Oct. 27, according to the UN.
Sudan's military chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said the army withdrew from El Fasher to protect remaining civilians and prevent further devastation in the city and vowed to hold RSF accountable for its crimes, promising to reclaim all territory from the “traitors.”
With the RSF controlling much of western Sudan, experts said the situation could lead to a de facto partition of Sudan, with each side establishing its own unrecognized government
Since the war began, more than 12 million people have had to flee their homes, and over half of the population –about 26 million people – are at risk of famine, according to the UN.
Both the RSF and the Sudanese army have been accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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