RSF Seizes El Fashir in Darfur, Triggering Mass Displacement

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized the city of El Fashir in North Darfur over the weekend, prompting widespread reports of mass killings, attacks on medical facilities and a fresh wave of displacement that aid agencies say has sent tens of thousands of people fleeing into already overstretched camps. The takeover ended an 18‑month siege of the city and marks a major shift in control of Darfur.

United Nations officials, medical groups and survivors described house‑to‑house raids, summary executions and sexual violence in the days after RSF fighters pushed the Sudanese army from its last major stronghold in the region. The World Health Organization said about 460 patients and companions were reportedly killed at the Saudi Maternity Hospital. United Nations humanitarian and human rights officials warned of ethnically motivated violence and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and unfettered humanitarian access.

Survivors who reached nearby Tawila and other towns recounted bodies strewn along roads, beatings, detentions and rape. Witnesses and aid workers said many fleeing were women, children and the elderly; men were less frequently among those who...