Reports of widespread, ethnically motivated atrocities are mounting in the western Sudanese city of El-Fasher following its capture by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). After a brutal 18-month siege, the city fell, giving the RSF control over every state capital in the vast Darfur region. Allies of the Sudanese army, known as the Joint Forces, stated that the RSF "committed heinous crimes against innocent civilians in the city of El-Fasher, where more than 2,000 unarmed citizens were executed and killed on October 26 and 27, most of them women, children and the elderly" . The United Nations human rights office has echoed these concerns, warning of a growing risk of "ethnically motivated violations and atrocities" and stating it has received "multiple, alarming reports" of summary executions by the RSF .
Analysts and monitoring groups assert that the violence is not random but part of a targeted campaign. The Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University reported that El-Fasher "appears to be in a systematic and intentional process of ethnic cleansing of Fur, Zaghawa and Berti indigenous non-Arab communities through forced displacement and summary execution" . Their analysis, which uses open-source intelligence and satellite imagery, has revealed evidence of door-to-door killings, mass graves, and what appear to be blood pools on a berm built by the RSF to seal the city . The monitor stated that the RSF's actions "may be consistent with war crimes and crimes against humanity and may rise to the level of genocide" . This tactic is hauntingly familiar, as the RSF are the descendants of the Janjaweed militias accused of genocide in Darfur two decades ago .
The situation in El-Fasher was dire long before the final assault, with the UN having previously warned that 260,000 people were trapped in the city without aid, half of them children . A medical charity reported alarming levels of malnutrition, stating that 75% of children under five screened last week were acutely malnourished . The city's capture has triggered a new wave of displacement, with the UN reporting that more than 26,000 people fled El-Fasher in just two days, most on foot . The African Union has condemned the "escalating violence" and "alleged war crimes and ethnically targeted killings of civilians" . UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has called for "urgent and concrete action" to protect civilians and ensure safe passage, reminding RSF commanders of their obligations under international humanitarian law .
The fall of El-Fasher is seen as a potential turning point that effectively partitions Sudan along an east-west axis . The RSF now runs a parallel government across Darfur, while the national army is entrenched along the Nile and Red Sea . Analysts warn that the prospects for peace are minimal, as neither side appears willing to commit to a genuine ceasefire . The conflict has already killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and triggered the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis . With the country now split, this division is expected to become more entrenched, making a peaceful resolution increasingly difficult to achieve .