The United Nations has appealed for urgent humanitarian corridors to help thousands of civilians trapped in el-Fasher, a key city in Sudan’s Darfur region, as Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters claim to have seized the army’s main base there.
The Sudanese military has yet to acknowledge losing control of the site, but if confirmed, it would mark a major strategic win for the RSF in the country’s devastating civil war.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the latest violence as a “horrific escalation,” warning that the suffering of civilians in el-Fasher had become “unbearable.” The city, long under siege by RSF fighters and their allies, represents the last stronghold of the national army in western Sudan.
According to reports, fierce clashes erupted on Saturday after RSF troops stormed and occupied the home of the North Darfur governor. The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, cautioned that the situation was deteriorating rapidly, with “a growing risk of large-scale, ethnically driven violence and atrocities.”
The Sudanese Doctors’ Network has accused the RSF of carrying out ethnically motivated killings, looting hospitals, and stealing medical supplies. However, Imran Abdullah, a senior adviser to the RSF commander, dismissed those claims, saying the group was “protecting civilians fleeing conflict zones, especially in el-Fasher.”
Videos verified by the BBC appear to show RSF fighters celebrating inside the captured army headquarters. While the RSF claims total control of the city, army-aligned militias insist that fighting is still raging in several districts.
Residents who managed to escape describe harrowing scenes of violence. One man told the BBC that many of his relatives had been massacred, while another said she was “terrified” for those still trapped inside, including “children, the elderly, and the wounded.” Communication with the city has largely been cut off, deepening fears for the thousands left behind.
The RSF has been accused of bombarding civilian areas, surrounding nearly 250,000 residents with makeshift barriers, and pushing many to the brink of starvation. El-Fasher has become one of the most devastated battlegrounds in Sudan’s civil war — what the UN calls an “epicentre of suffering.”
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher expressed deep alarm at the escalating crisis. “With escape routes sealed and the fighting intensifying, hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped — starving, shelled, and without access to food, water, or medical care,” he said, urging all sides to allow safe passage and humanitarian aid.
The United States has echoed the UN’s call, pressing both sides to agree to a temporary ceasefire to enable relief efforts.
Capturing el-Fasher would represent a symbolic comeback for the RSF after losses in Khartoum, but analysts warn it will likely prolong the conflict rather than end it. The war erupted in 2023 when a power struggle between the heads of the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) spiraled into nationwide chaos.
Since then, more than 150,000 people have been killed, and nearly 12 million displaced, according to UN estimates — creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The army currently controls most of northern and eastern Sudan, while the RSF dominates nearly all of Darfur and much of Kordofan.
As the RSF tightens its grip on el-Fasher, the group has hinted at plans to establish a rival government in the city once full control is secured — a move that could further fragment Sudan and deepen the suffering of its people.