RSF claims capture of El-Fasher as fierce fighting traps civilians

KHARTOUM – Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) say they have taken full control of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, in what appears to be a major turning point in Sudan’s 19-month civil war.

In a statement shared on social media, the RSF claimed to have captured the city “from the grip of mercenaries and militias allied with the terrorist army.” The group said its fighters overran the Sudanese army’s 6th Division Headquarters, seized heavy weaponry, and destroyed several military vehicles.

BBC Verify confirmed videos circulating online showing RSF fighters inside the captured military base. However, the Sudanese army has yet to issue an official response to the claims.

Local sources in El-Fasher told Sudans Post that intense clashes raged for several days before the RSF announcement, forcing thousands of civilians to flee toward Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps. Many residents remain trapped inside the city as food, water, and medicine run dangerously low.

“The fighting was non-stop for nearly a week. Shells and gunfire were everywhere — people are dying in their homes,” said a local resident who fled to the city’s outskirts.

El-Fasher, which had been the army’s last stronghold in the Darfur region, has been under siege by RSF forces for more than a year. The group surrounded the city with an earth wall, cutting off aid routes and trapping an estimated 250,000 civilians inside.

Humanitarian agencies say conditions have deteriorated sharply. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said he was “deeply alarmed” by the escalation, warning that ongoing airstrikes and shelling have made it “impossible” to deliver life-saving supplies. “Hunger and disease are spreading fast as essential supplies run out,” he added.

Witnesses described scenes of devastation following the RSF’s final push into the city over the weekend. Explosions were reported near the governor’s residence and the main hospital, while several humanitarian warehouses were looted amid the chaos.

The Sudan Founding Alliance (Ta’sis), a political coalition aligned with the RSF, issued a statement hailing what it called the “complete liberation of El-Fasher” by “the brave forces of Ta’sis.” The group praised RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) and other commanders for their “heroic leadership” in the operation.

Analysts say the fall of El-Fasher hands the RSF near-total control of Darfur and parts of the neighbouring Kordofan region — a development that could shift the balance of power in the wider conflict.

The civil war, which began in April 2023 following a power struggle between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the Sudanese army and Hemedti of the RSF, has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced over 12 million, according to UN estimates.

Despite the RSF’s battlefield gains, fighting reportedly continues on the city’s outskirts, where remnants of the Sudanese army and allied militias are attempting to regroup. Residents say heavy artillery fire could still be heard late Sunday evening.

“The city is destroyed, people are starving, and there’s no safe way out,” one humanitarian worker told Sudans Post by phone. “What’s happening in El-Fasher is catastrophic.”