Crisis Deepens as RSF Seizes El-Fasher

Millions of people across war-ravaged Sudan, particularly in its western regions, remain in desperate need of humanitarian aid. As key generals show no intention of ending the civil war amid ongoing violence and killings in North Darfur’s el-Fasher.

International aid agencies on Sunday called on the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to facilitate the increased entry of humanitarian assistance, as a roadmap by mediators has so far failed to produce a ceasefire.

A week after the RSF seized el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, following an 18-month siege and starvation campaign, the situation on the ground remains catastrophic. Tens of thousands of civilians are still believed to be trapped in the city, the last major urban center in Darfur to fall to the paramilitary force, while thousands more remain unaccounted for after fleeing el-Fasher.

Only a fraction of those who fled on foot have reached Tawila, a town about 50 kilometers (30 miles) away. Speaking to Al Jazeera from Tawila, Caroline Bouvard, Sudan country director for the France-based aid organization Solidarites International, said only a few hundred people have arrived in recent days.

“Those are very small numbers considering the number of people who were stuck in el-Fasher. We keep hearing feedback that people are stuck on the roads and in different villages that are unfortunately still inaccessible due to security reasons,” Bouvard said.

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Bouvard added there is a “complete blackout” in terms of information coming out of el-Fasher following the RSF takeover, with aid agencies relying on reports from nearby areas where up to 15,000 people are believed to be stranded. “There’s a strong request for advocacy with the different parties to ensure that humanitarian aid can reach these people or that at least we can send in trucks to bring them back to Tawila,” she said.

Those who managed to survive numerous RSF checkpoints and reach Tawila have reported witnessing mass executions, torture, beatings, and sexual violence. Many were abducted by armed men and forced to pay ransom under threat of death. Others have been forcibly displaced to the al-Dabbah refugee camp in Sudan’s Northern State, where some have remained for weeks.

Reporting from al-Dabbah camp, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan said the arrival of more displaced people from el-Fasher in recent days has worsened the already dire humanitarian conditions. People in the camp are in urgent need of food, clean water, medication, and shelter, with many sleeping in the open. Thousands more are expected to flee toward al-Dabbah and other surrounding areas in the coming days as they escape RSF attacks.

The United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt acting as mediators have condemned the mass killings and called for increased humanitarian assistance.

“The RSF must stop engaging in retribution and ethnic violence the tragedy in El Geneina must not be repeated,” the U.S. Department of State said in a statement on Saturday, referring to the massacre of Masalit people in West Darfur’s capital.

“There isn’t a viable military solution, and external military support only prolongs the conflict. The United States urges both parties to pursue a negotiated path to end the suffering of the Sudanese people,” the statement added in a post on X.

U.S. lawmakers have also called for stronger action in response to the RSF’s capture of el-Fasher. Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Friday urged Washington to officially designate the RSF as a “foreign terrorist organisation.”

As countless Sudanese civilians are left with no choice but to flee their homes and “bounce” from one unsafe region to another, the phrase takes on a grim literal meaning  a sharp contrast to lighter uses like the M18 Enamel Pin - For When It’s Time to Bounce, a small symbolic reminder of resilience and the human urge to keep moving forward, even in the harshest times.