Thousands Flee El Fasher as Violence Engulfs Sudan

Families displaced from El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, seek refuge in Tawila.

After 500 days under siege, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia have reportedly seized control of the key Sudanese city of El Fasher in Darfur, triggering widespread panic and forcing thousands of civilians to flee.

Senior UN refugee agency (UNHCR) official in Sudan, Jacqueline Wilma Parlevliet, said there had been “a significant outflow from El Fasher into Tawila” – around 60 kilometres west of the city – which is already hosting about 650,000 displaced people.

New arrivals have recounted harrowing stories of ethnically and politically motivated killings, including reports of people with disabilities being executed because they were unable to flee, and others being shot as they tried to escape, said Ms. Parlevliet.

Humanitarian agencies operating in Tawila, including UNHCR, are providing protection services, counselling, and cash assistance to affected communities.

Call for humanitarian corridors

The UNHCR official warned that widespread destruction of infrastructure across Darfur – including markets, hospitals, schools, and homes – has left civilians with almost no resources.

Reports have also emerged of “massive killings” in the city of Barah, in the central Kordofan region, where RSF fighters recently seized control and carried out similar acts of violence, according to UNHCR.

“We need peace, we need a ceasefire, we need humanitarian corridors,” Ms. Parlevliet stressed, noting that many civilians still trapped in El Fasher are “too weak” or the situation “too dangerous” for them to escape.

IOM demands protection for civilians

The UN migration agency (IOM) urged all sides in Sudan’s conflict to protect civilians in El Fasher and allow “immediate, safe, and unhindered” humanitarian access.

“In just two days, more than 26,000 people have been forced to flee the city,” said IOM chief Amy Pope, warning that “scenes emerging from El Fasher are horrific.” Families are walking for days “under the scorching sun… with no food, no shelter, no medicine.”

IOM said it is rushing tents and emergency shelter kits to Tawila but warned that “needs are rising faster than aid can reach people.” Pope urged the international community to “act now to end the suffering.”

‘Trapped, starving, terrified’

For the past 18 months, El Fasher has become the “epicentre of suffering,” with hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped under an increasingly tight RSF siege, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

News reports citing satellite imagery indicate that mass atrocities have already taken place, showing bodies piled up after large-scale executions and house-to-house clearances carried out by RSF fighters.

Mr. Guterres said civilians had been “trapped, starving, and terrified,” renewing his call for an immediate ceasefire between the rival military forces. Civil war erupted in Sudan in April 2023.

The UN chief strongly condemned reports of grave human rights violations, including indiscriminate attacks, targeting of civilians and infrastructure, gender-based violence, ethnically motivated assaults, and ill-treatment.

He reiterated his call for an immediate end to the fighting and urged both the military government and RSF leadership to engage with his Personal Envoy toward a negotiated settlement.