Rapid Support Forces Seize El Fasher Amid Reports of Mass Atrocities in Darfur

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken control of El Fasher, the last significant holdout of the Sudanese army in Darfur, after an 18-month siege that caused famine and humanitarian crisis. Numerous videos and eyewitness accounts reveal RSF carrying out extrajudicial killings, summary executions, and ethnically motivated abuses against civilians trying to flee the city, raising fears of mass atrocities and ethnic cleansing reminiscent of past genocides in the region. Despite denials and claims by the RSF-led coalition that some videos are fabricated, international bodies such as the UN and African Union have condemned the violence and warned of escalating war crimes. Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped inside El Fasher, sealed off by RSF-built berms that block food, medicine, and escape routes, while more than 26,000 have fled on foot under dangerous conditions. U.S. lawmakers and human rights groups are calling for urgent international action, including sanctions and pressure on RSF backers like the UAE, to prevent further atrocities. The conflict has entrenched a de facto split of Sudan, with the RSF consolidating control over Darfur amid the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.