Sudan’s El Fasher Siege Nears Its Bloody End
For 18 months, El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, stood as the Sudanese army’s last bastion in a brutal war that has shattered Sudan. The RSF siege has now culminated in the militia’s claim of victory, forcing civilians into a nightmare of hunger, displacement, and fear.
The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), says it now controls the entire city and the army’s main base. If true, the group now dominates all of Darfur, a region already scarred by decades of ethnic conflict.
Civilians Trapped Amid Starvation and Bombardment
Civilians in El Fasher have endured relentless drone and artillery attacks, starvation, and disease. With telecommunication blackouts and the collapse of aid networks, humanitarian agencies have been unable to deliver food or medical assistance.
Aid groups warn that children are dying daily as famine spreads through the city. Hospitals have been destroyed or abandoned, while survivors report robberies, assaults, and killings by RSF fighters during attempted evacuations.
The United Nations says both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have committed crimes against humanity, including attacks on civilians and ethnic violence targeting non-Arab groups.
Darfur at the Brink of Partition
Analysts warn that the RSF’s control of Darfur could result in a de facto partition of Sudan. Dagalo, who has established a parallel government in Nyala, has positioned Darfur as the core of his emerging state.
Experts believe the RSF aims to use its military dominance to claim political legitimacy in future peace talks, strengthening its hand against the Khartoum-based army leadership.
The conflict, which began in April 2023 as a power struggle between Dagalo’s RSF and the army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has plunged Sudan into chaos. Despite retaking Khartoum in March 2025, the army continues to lose ground in the west and south.
As El Fasher falls, millions of Sudanese are lacking access to aid, safety, or peace. The once-thriving city has become a graveyard of war and famine — a grim symbol of Sudan’s deepening collapse.
