Tens of Thousands Flee Atrocities in Darfur as RSF Tightens Grip on El-Fasher

Tens of Thousands Flee Atrocities in Darfur as RSF Tightens Grip on El-Fasher
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Tens of thousands of Sudanese civilians have fled to overcrowded displacement camps in western Darfur to escape reported atrocities by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after they captured the city of El-Fasher, according to media reports. Aid groups and U.N. officials warn that many residents remain trapped in the city amid escalating violence and dire humanitarian conditions.

Since the RSF seized El-Fasher from the Sudanese army on October 26, more than 16,000 people have fled to Tawila, around 70 kilometers away, said Adam Rojal, spokesperson for Sudan’s IDPs and Refugee Camps group. The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 82,000 people have fled El-Fasher and surrounding areas since early November. Many arrived on foot to find overcrowded camps with limited shelter, food, and medical care.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported that at least 300 new arrivals reached Tawila on Thursday alone, noting “extremely high levels of malnutrition among children and adults.” Rojal said displaced families often survive on one or two meals per day, with urgent shortages of food, medicine, and shelter materials.

The United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned that civilians still inside El-Fasher are “traumatized and being prevented from leaving,” adding that reports of killings, rape, and ethnically targeted violence persist. Witnesses and satellite imagery suggest widespread destruction, including an assault on the city’s Saudi Hospital that left hundreds dead, though the RSF denies responsibility.

The conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army, ongoing since April 2023, has killed at least 40,000 people, displaced over 12 million, and pushed nearly half the population into acute food insecurity, according to the World Health Organization.

Fighting has also intensified in neighboring North Kordofan, where a drone attack on El-Obeid earlier this week killed at least 40 people. Analysts warn that the RSF’s territorial gains could extend the war toward central Sudan. Both the RSF and the army have expressed conditional support for a humanitarian truce proposed by the U.S.-led Quad mediation group, though no agreement has yet been implemented.