Sudan civil war escalates as RSF forces reportedly advance towards besieged army stronghold of El-Fasher

Johannesburg — A powerful paramilitary force that fights against the government in Sudan’s raging two-and-a-half-year civil war claimed over the weekend to have captured the city of El-Fasher, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have been trapped, cut off from the world for months.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the French news agency News that the violence around El-Fasher, the last town in the Darfur region not in the hands of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, “represents a terrible escalation of the conflict.”

“The level of suffering we are witnessing in Sudan is unbearable,” he said.

Reports circulating on social media on Sunday said that RSF forces had taken control of the Sudanese Armed Forces 6th Division headquarters in El-Fasher.

The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Laboratory (HRL), which has monitored the war, said it was able to confirm from satellite images that RSF forces launched a major attack on El-Fasher on Sunday.

The HRL said there was “evidence of hand-to-hand battle” in the city, and that the “activity” may be consistent with reports that RSF has taken prisoners in and around the city. [army] aerodrome.”

The Yale lab said it would continue to monitor satellite images for any evidence of “mass atrocities” committed at El-Fasher.

The RSF claimed in a statement to have taken full control of the city, but the army said fighting was continuing and independent analysts said the claim could not be verified.

The UN has called for civilians trapped inside the Sudanese city, of whom there are believed to be around 250,000, to be allowed to leave. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher called for a ceasefire in the city to allow people to flee.

RSF forces have surrounded El-Fasher for weeks, building an earthen dam around the city to prevent supplies from entering and people from leaving. It is the last remaining stronghold of the Sudanese army in the Darfur region, and if the RSF completely captures El-Fasher, it would leave the group in control of all five Darfur states.

Analysts have warned that RSF has indicated it would take steps to formally divide Sudan and establish a parallel government in areas under its control.

Unverified images posted on social media appeared to show RSF fighters walking among dead bodies and wounded civilians as fighters celebrated inside El-Fasher on Sunday.

Fighting has ravaged El-Fasher for 18 months, leaving tens of thousands of stranded residents deprived of everything they need, from food to medical supplies, and with few means to communicate with the outside world. From the few witness accounts that emerged, it was clear that drone and artillery attacks have become part of daily life as the army and RSF fight for the city.

Sudanese civil society The war broke out in April 2023.when a power-sharing agreement between army commanders and the RSF collapsed over plans to combine their forces. Fighting has continued since then and both sides have been accused of alleged war crimes as fighting fuels what the UN considers the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.