Sudan: Mass killings, fear reported in Darfur’s El Fasher after RSF take control

After a year and a half of siege and fighting, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken control of most neighbourhoods in El Fasher, the historic capital of the Darfur region in western Sudan. The large-scale offensive has involved violent attacks, assassinations, and killings based on ethnic identity, according to local medical and field sources.

These developments follow months of intensified fighting around El Fasher — previously the last major stronghold under army control in Darfur. 

The latest events have sparked deep concern for civilian safety and raised fears of worsening humanitarian conditions amid growing insecurity across the region.

Images and footage shared by the El Fasher Resistance Committees on their Facebook page show civilians fleeing the city and bodies scattered near burnt-out vehicles.

A video posted by the same group shows a dead woman lying on the ground, with a caption saying: “Militias and mercenaries have gathered from all directions to kill and loot. Their slogan is to kill everything that moves inside and outside El Fasher.”

The Sudanese Doctors Network said RSF fighters had “executed dozens of people on ethnic grounds” in El Fasher. The network also reported the looting of hospitals, pharmacies, and medical facilities in areas captured by the forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti.

READ: US-based Sudanese rights group calls for investigation into presence of RSF leader in US