Sudan’s El Fasher Turns into a City of Horror as RSF Rampage Continues

Sudan’s El Fasher, the capital of the North Darfur region, has descended into a city of killings, rapes, and looting, as fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue their brutal offensive. The paramilitary group has reportedly blocked all humanitarian access routes, leaving thousands trapped without aid or escape.

Since the RSF seized control of key positions in El Fasher, at least 62,000 residents have fled the city and surrounding areas, according to local and international agencies. The violence has spread beyond Darfur, with the North Kordofan region also facing a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Witnesses describe scenes of unimaginable brutality across Darfur — streets littered with bodies, homes and markets looted, and widespread reports of rape and summary executions. Human rights groups say the RSF’s actions amount to war crimes and ethnic cleansing.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the situation in North Darfur remains “catastrophic,” with attacks on civilians continuing unabated. “Humanitarian aid cannot reach El Fasher, and people are fleeing toward Tawila and nearby towns seeking safety,” he said. “Movement along main roads has become extremely dangerous.”

In North Kordofan, north of the capital El-Obeid, conditions are similarly dire. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that around 36,000 people have been displaced from the town of Bara this week alone. The RSF has also been accused of executing five Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers by hanging, adding to outrage over the group’s abuses.

Human rights organizations have condemned the campaign of killings and mass displacement as a genocide, urging the United Nations and international community to ensure unrestricted humanitarian access to Darfur and Kordofan. They are also calling for war crimes investigations and accountability for those responsible.
As the conflict deepens, Sudan’s western and central regions stand on the brink of total collapse — their cities reduced to ghost towns, their people caught between hunger, terror, and displacement.