Khartoum: The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken control of El Fasher, the last major city in Sudan's western Darfur region previously held by the Sudanese army. The army announced on Monday that it has withdrawn from El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, which is home to around 300,000 civilians.
According to Ghana News Agency, the RSF had announced on Sunday that it had first seized the army's main post and then the entire city. The army reported that it had repelled two significant assaults on Saturday morning, resulting in numerous militia fighters being killed or wounded during the clashes, though these claims remain unverified.
El Fasher was the final government stronghold in the Darfur region, much of which has now fallen under RSF control during the conflict that has persisted for more than two and a half years. UN estimates indicate that up to 300,000 people remain in the city under what aid groups describe as catastrophic humanitarian conditions.
Observers are concerned that the remaining civilians could face severe violence from the RSF, including killings, torture, rape, and ethnically motivated displacement, as witnessed in other parts of Darfur previously seized by the paramilitary group. Sudan has been embroiled in a brutal power struggle since April 2023, between de facto ruler Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF.
Both sides face accusations of serious human rights violations, raising fears that the conflict could lead to the country's permanent division. The UN considers the situation the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with over 12 million people displaced and more than 26 million, nearly half the country's population, suffering from acute hunger.
UN Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres has urged immediate talks to end the fighting following the RSF's capture of El Fasher. Guterres called on both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF to contact his envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, and 'take swift, tangible steps toward a negotiated settlement,' according to his spokesman, St©phane Dujarric.
Dujarric stated that Guterres was 'gravely concerned' by the escalation of fighting and condemned reported violations of international humanitarian law. He also expressed alarm over the continued flow of weapons and fighters into Sudan, which he said exacerbates an already dire situation. Dujarric emphasized that humanitarian aid must reach civilians quickly and without obstruction, highlighting that El Fasher and surrounding areas have been 'an epicentre of suffering' for more than 18 months due to hunger, disease, and violence.
Meanwhile, the German government has called for an immediate end to the violence in Sudan, expressing shock at the reports emerging from El Fasher. The Foreign Office stated that RSF fighters had advanced deep into the city and were 'killing civilians indiscriminately,' urging that this must stop immediately. The RSF leadership had publicly committed to protecting civilians and would be held accountable, the Foreign Office added.
