RSF Captures El Fasher, Displacing 90,000 in Sudan

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces captured El Fasher, the capital of Sudan's North Darfur state, on October 26, displacing nearly 90,000 people and triggering reports of widespread atrocities amid a deepening humanitarian crisis that threatens to overwhelm aid efforts.

The takeover marked the last major urban center in Darfur to fall under RSF control, following 18 months of intense fighting. Witnesses described chaotic escapes, with families fleeing through unsafe routes marked by dead bodies, drone attacks, and makeshift trenches for cover. Aid groups and United Nations officials reported hundreds of deaths, including ethnically targeted killings, sexual violence, and deliberate assaults on civilians. Satellite imagery and survivor accounts indicated large-scale violence, with one witness recounting RSF vehicles crushing fleeing residents and militiamen raiding homes to kill dozens. The World Health Organization estimated that thousands remain trapped in the city, lacking access to food, clean water, or medical care.

In the weeks since, tens of thousands have crowded into displacement camps like Tawila, about 70 kilometers away, where barren conditions exacerbate the...