Investigation by Sudan Tribune exposes horrors in El Fasher, north Darfur

The Sudan Tribune reported on Monday an investigation revealing the horrors and atrocities experienced in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in western Sudan.

According to the web site’s report, the city fell into the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 26 October 2025 after a siege that lasted over 500 days. This was followed by a military shift in control, that “signaled the start of a harrowing chapter of human rights violations, with growing allegations of crimes amounting to genocide and ethnic cleansing.”

According to the Sudan Tribune’s investigation, based on testimonies from survivors: “residents still trapped in the city”. It added that “field sources have identified suspected mass grave sites.” It also described shocking accounts of “secret burials, enforced disappearances, and the systematic destruction of evidence”, clearly aimed at covering up the crimes committed.

Witnesses living in El Fasher reported the widespread presence of detention centres, where RSF fighters carried out murder, “rape, torture, starvation, and financial extortion.”

People inside the city spoke to the Sudan Tribune, and the newspaper verified their accounts with independent sources. The testimonies paint a grim picture of the humanitarian situation in El Fasher, with no communications and the area closed off to international organisations.

According to these witnesses, the RSF detained most civilians in the city, leaving only a small number of elderly people, women, and children.