El Fasher, Sudan – On October 26, 2025, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in Sudan, after a grueling 17-month siege, forcing the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to withdraw from their last stronghold in the region. The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), declared victory, with fighters celebrating in the streets as SAF troops fled the city’s 6th Infantry Division headquarters. The takeover marks a major military gain for the RSF, consolidating their control over all five Darfur states and freeing up troops for other fronts while securing smuggling routes for weapons from Libya and Chad.
The city, home to 300,000 inhabitants, had been a humanitarian lifeline amid Sudan’s civil war, which has displaced 10 million and caused famine in displacement camps. The RSF’s advance, involving artillery, drones, and infantry, ended with a multi-pronged assault, but reports of atrocities are mounting. The UN Human Rights Office documented summary executions, ethnic killings, and sexual violence, with 36,000 fleeing on foot to Tawila, already sheltering 652,000 displaced. Human Rights Watch cited videos showing RSF fighters shooting unarmed men, accusing them of SAF ties, and proposed mass graves to “clean up” the massacre.
The RSF’s capture, a “political and moral defeat” despite military success, risks repeating the 2023 West Darfur genocide, targeting non-Arab Fur, Zaghawa, and Berti communities. SAF leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan vowed to restore security, but the RSF’s “Government of Peace and Unity” in Nyala challenges Khartoum’s authority, potentially partitioning Sudan.
