RSF Seizes El-Fasher, Tightening Grip on Darfur Amid Humanitarian Crisis

Sudan’s RSF claims to have seized El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, tightening its control of the region. The UN warns of a worsening humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of thousands trapped. The war, ongoing since 2023, has killed over 150,000 and displaced millions.

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have announced that they have taken control of the western city of El-Fasher, a development that marks a major turning point in the country’s ongoing civil war.

In a statement posted on social media, the RSF declared that it had captured El-Fasher “from the grip of mercenaries and militias allied with the terrorist army.” If confirmed, this would represent a significant setback for the Sudanese army, as El-Fasher was its last major stronghold in the Darfur region. The capture leaves the RSF effectively in control of Darfur, though the Sudanese army has not yet issued an official response.

The announcement follows claims by the RSF that it had seized the army’s 6th Division Headquarters in the city, destroying several large military vehicles and capturing substantial military equipment in the process.

BBC Verify has confirmed that videos circulating on social media showing RSF fighters inside the captured army base are authentic. However, pro-army local fighters known as the Popular Resistance have dismissed the RSF’s claims, accusing the group of conducting a “media disinformation campaign” designed to undermine the “high morale of the forces.”

For the past 18 months, El-Fasher has been under siege, with the RSF surrounding the city and bombarding army positions as well as civilian areas. The fighting has trapped an estimated 300,000 people inside the city.

Satellite imagery from August showed the construction of extensive earthen walls around El-Fasher, reportedly intended to prevent civilians from escaping. Over recent weeks, the RSF has been steadily advancing toward the 6th Infantry Division command—widely considered the main army headquarters in the city—from multiple directions.

Although the army and its allied armed groups still hold some areas within El-Fasher, their positions are rapidly diminishing, and analysts say it is unlikely they will be able to maintain control for much longer.

UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher said on Sunday that he was “deeply alarmed” by reports emerging from El-Fasher, calling for an immediate ceasefire across Darfur and the rest of Sudan. “Hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and terrified—shelled, starving, and without access to food, healthcare, or safety,” Fletcher said. He added that intensified attacks had made it “impossible” for humanitarian agencies to deliver aid to the city.

Hunger and disease have spread across El-Fasher as residents struggle to survive amid relentless bombardment and rapidly dwindling supplies of food and medicine.

UN investigators have accused the RSF of committing numerous crimes against humanity during the siege, while the United States has formally stated that the RSF has carried out acts of genocide against Darfur’s non-Arab population.

The civil conflict in Sudan erupted in 2023 after relations collapsed between the top commanders of the Sudanese army and the RSF, triggering a brutal power struggle. Since then, more than 150,000 people have been killed across the country, and an estimated 12 million have been displaced, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Currently, the Sudanese army controls much of the country’s north and east, while the RSF dominates nearly all of Darfur and large parts of the neighboring Kordofan region. Until now, El-Fasher had remained the last major urban center in Darfur still under government control.

The RSF has previously stated that once it fully secures El-Fasher, it plans to establish a rival government in the city, consolidating its authority over western Sudan.