One Year After El-Fasher Fell, Survivors Report Continued Fear

The fall of North Darfur’s capital marked a turning point in Sudan’s civil war. One year later, survivors say the violence has not stopped.

Hala, a woman who uses a pseudonym for safety, returned to el-Fasher from the Tawila refugee camp three weeks ago. She went to collect her birth certificate and ID. Rapid Support Forces fighters questioned her upon arrival and gave her a handwritten permit. The next day, soldiers spoke to her abusively in the street. Hala said she avoided physical attack only because other civilians were present. She has now returned to Tawila and plans not to go back.

The RSF launched its final assault on October 26, 2025, after a siege lasting more than 500 days. This attack resulted in the largest single massacre of the war that began in April 2023. Researchers at Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab compared the speed and scale of the killing to the Rwandan genocide. The United Arab Emirates, which is accused of supporting the RSF, denies involvement.

Survivors reported rapes, executions, and the separation of families. Mohamed Hassan said fighters killed men they identified as army soldiers or allied Joint Forces. Close to 500 people died at the Saudi Maternity Hospital, a shelter for displaced families and staff. UN investigators documented mass killings at el-Fasher University, on exit roads, and at the berms built around the city. Monitoring groups counted at least 6,000 dead in the first 72 hours using satellite imagery, though the full toll remains unknown.

The RSF has maintained a communications blackout and barred human rights investigators from entering el-Fasher. This week, volunteers in Bara, North Kordofan, recovered more than 600 bodies from 200 mass graves. Witnesses say most victims were civilians killed during the same October offensive. Yale researchers identified 150 clusters of objects consistent with human remains between October 26 and November 28, 2025. Twenty of these clusters showed signs of burning, and 57 disappeared within four weeks.

Conditions during the siege were severe. A doctor who worked in an el-Fasher hospital for nearly two years reported that generators ran only two hours a night. Surgeons performed emergency procedures using phone flashlights. The World Food Programme stated that residents survived on animal fodder and food waste. In February, a UN fact-finding mission concluded that the RSF committed acts of genocide in the city. The US government and Amnesty International have reached similar findings regarding Darfur.

Displacement continues to expand. Tawila now hosts about 800,000 people, most from el-Fasher. Survivors report that RSF units still detain fleeing men and demand ransoms of up to $3,000. Khadijah, an elderly woman from el-Geneina, said she lives under a tree on a farm with little food and no shelter. Mudathir Mohammed Diqourni of an el-Fasher resistance committee said RSF militias are destroying farms and killing farmers in South and Central Darfur. A UN mission found that private companies and recruiters based in the UAE routed weapons through Chad, southeastern Libya, and Bosaso in Somalia. Mona Rishmawi, a member of that mission, said the supplies included weapons, drone equipment, logistical help, and personnel. The United States remains the UAE's top weapons supplier, and British weaponry has been found on Sudanese battlefields.