Thousands Missing, Civilians Hunted After RSF Capture of Sudan’s el-Fasher
New horrors are surfacing from Sudan’s Darfur region after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of el-Fasher, the last army stronghold in North Darfur, following an 18 month siege. Survivors and aid agencies describe scenes of mass killings, rape, and starvation as thousands remain missing and entire families vanish along desert roads, according to Al Jazeera News.
According to the United Nations, more than 62,000 people have fled el-Fasher since its fall on Sunday. Yet humanitarian organizations warn that many others never made it out. “Based on what patients tell us, the most likely, albeit frightening, answer is that they are being killed, blocked, and hunted down when trying to flee,” said Michel-Olivier Lacharite, head of emergencies for Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
In the nearby town of Tawila, survivors recount chilling encounters. Alkheir Ismail, a young man who escaped el-Fasher, said RSF fighters stopped his group of 300 fleeing civilians. “They spared me because one fighter recognized me from university,” he said. “Then they killed the rest.”
Others tell of brutal searches, assaults, and humiliation. “They hit us hard and stripped our clothes,” said Tahani Hassan, who fled with her children. “Even I, as a woman, was searched. The attacker was younger than my daughter.”
Women describe rape and extortion, with RSF fighters allegedly demanding ransoms from families ranging from 5 million to 30 million Sudanese pounds to spare loved ones. A 24 year old man told UN officials that of 200 people in his group, only four who could pay survived. “They killed children, the elderly, and women each with a single bullet,” he said.
MSF reported that every child under five among the new arrivals in Tawila last week was acutely malnourished; more than half were suffering from severe acute malnutrition. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) confirmed at least 460 people were killed in an RSF assault on el-Fasher’s maternity hospital on October 29 patients, visitors, and healthcare workers among them.
RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo publicly urged his fighters to protect civilians, claiming that those responsible for abuses would be prosecuted. The group announced the arrest of several members accused of violations. Yet UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher voiced skepticism, questioning the RSF’s commitment to accountability.
The violence is spreading south. In North Kordofan, the UN reports that more than 36,000 people have fled Bara locality after its capture by the RSF, amid allegations of executions and sexual violence. Aid groups warn that el-Obeid, the state capital, may be the next battleground.
Eighteen months into the war between the RSF and Sudan’s army, tens of thousands are dead and nearly 14 million displaced. With famine deepening and cholera outbreaks rising, Darfur’s suffering now stands as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises; its survivors trapped between the silence of the desert and the brutality of men with guns.
