RSF Seizes El-Fasher; Sudan Seeks International Trial

After an 18-month siege, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized El-Fasher on Oct. 26, ousting the army’s last stronghold in Darfur and giving the RSF control of all five Darfur state capitals. Survivors, aid groups and fresh satellite imagery report mass executions, rape, pillage, abductions and the separation and killing of children, with tens of thousands trapped or displaced. The Sudanese government says at least 2,000 people were killed in El-Fasher and more than 65,000 have fled, though witnesses warn tolls could be higher. Prime Minister Kamil Idris and senior diplomats have urged international prosecution of RSF leaders and designation of the RSF as a terrorist organization while rejecting the deployment of foreign troops, and the International Criminal Court prosecutor warned the atrocities could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Sudan’s envoy to Egypt accused the United Arab Emirates of supporting the RSF and said Sudan will not join talks that involve the UAE, while humanitarian groups warn of renewed ethnic-targeted violence and call for urgent international action beyond condemnation.