Thousands missing, new horrors emerge after RSF taking of Sudan’s el-Fasher

Starved and abused civilians person recounted harrowing stories aft fleeing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces successful occidental Sudan’s Darfur, portion thousands much stay missing.

The superior of North Darfur authorities was the past Sudanese service stronghold successful the immense portion earlier falling to the RSF aft 18 months of siege connected Sunday.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3War successful Sudan: Humanitarian, fighting, power developments, October 2025
• list 2 of 3Sudanese activistic sees his executed uncles successful RSF videos from el-Fasher
• list 3 of 3Sudanese writer Muammar Ibrahim detained by RSF successful el-Fasher

Since then, the United Nations and planetary assistance agencies have raised the alarm implicit the destiny of civilians arsenic accounts of mass killings, rape and different abuses proceed to emerge.

Alkheir Ismail, a young Sudanese antheral who has fled to the municipality of Tawila, immoderate 50km (31 miles) away, said helium was among a radical of 300 radical who were stopped by RSF fighters arsenic they tried to flight el-Fasher connected Sunday. The fighters lone spared him due to the fact that 1 of the captors recognised him from his schoolhouse days, helium added.

“There was a young antheral I studied with, successful the assemblage successful Khartoum, helium told them, ‘Don’t termination him’. After that, they killed the remainder of the people, the youths with maine and my friends.”

Other Sudanese successful Tawila besides described the fearfulness they experienced aft being stopped by fighters.

“All of a abrupt they showed up, from wherever I don’t know. Three young men showed up, antithetic ages. They changeable successful the air, and said, ‘Stop, stop’. They were wearing RSF clothes,” Tahani Hassan said. “They deed america hard. They threw our apparel connected the ground. Even I, arsenic a woman, was searched. The attacker, helium could beryllium younger than my daughter.”

Fatima Abdulrahim, who fled with her grandchildren, said she walked for 5 days successful brutal conditions to scope Tawila.

“They bushed the boys and took everything we owned; they near america with nothing. After we arrived here, we learned that the girls successful the radical that came aft america had been raped, but our girls escaped,” she said.

Rawaa Abdalla, a young pistillate who fled the city, said her begetter is missing.

‘We don’t cognize whether he’s live oregon dead, whether he’s with the radical who near oregon if he’s injured,” she said.

In a code connected Wednesday night, RSF caput Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo called connected his fighters to support civilians and said violations volition beryllium prosecuted.

On Thursday, the paramilitary group, which has been warring the Sudanese service since April 2023, claimed to person arrested respective fighters accused of abuses, but UN humanitarian affairs main Tom Fletcher questioned the RSF’s committedness to investigating violations.

A high-level RSF commandant called the accounts “media exaggeration” by the service and its allied fighters “to screen up for their decision and loss” of el-Fasher, according to Reuters quality agency.

Both the RSF and the service person faced warfare crimes accusations implicit the people of the struggle that has killed tens of thousands of people, forced immoderate 14 cardinal from their homes and created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN. Famine is wide portion outbreaks of cholera and different deadly diseases are connected the rise.

‘Killed, blocked, hunted down’

More than 62,000 radical fled el-Fasher betwixt Sunday and Wednesday, according to the UN. As of precocious August, el-Fasher was inactive location to 260,000 people.

In a connection connected Friday, Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres oregon MSF) said agencies operating connected the crushed estimation that lone a small implicit 5,000 radical managed to marque their mode to Tawila implicit the past 5 days.

“Based connected what patients archer us, the astir likely, albeit frightening, reply is that they are being killed, blocked, and hunted down erstwhile trying to flee,” said MSF caput of emergencies Michel Olivier Lacharite, calling connected mediators the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to intervene.

MSF said each azygous kid nether 5 years old, of the 70 caller arrivals successful Tawila connected October 27, was acutely malnourished, with 57 percent of them suffering from terrible acute malnutrition.

Survivors told the assistance bureau that RSF fighters separated radical by gender, property oregon perceived taste identity, with galore remaining held for ransom, with sums ranging from 5 cardinal to 30 cardinal Sudanese pounds (more than $8,000 to astir $50,000).

Another subsister reported gruesome scenes of RSF fighters crushing respective prisoners with their vehicles, it said.

We denounce the horrendous wide atrocities and killings, some indiscriminate and ethnically-targeted, that person culminated this week successful and astir El Fasher, Sudan.https://t.co/YGo84UxEn5

— MSF International (@MSF) October 31, 2025

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the organisation’s intersexual and reproductive wellness agency, which offers humanitarian assistance successful Tawila, spoke to much survivors portion protecting their identities.

A 24-year-old antheral said that of a radical of 200 men, women and children, lone 4 radical who could wage a ransom ended up surviving 4 antithetic encounters with RSF soldiers astatine checkpoints connected the mode to Tawila.

“The remainder were killed. They killed children, the elderly, and women. I cannot picture the scene, it was unbearable to ticker radical dice close successful beforehand of you, each with a azygous bullet,” helium was quoted arsenic saying.

A 26-year-old pistillate said her hubby was lone capable to wage a ransom for her and their children, and was killed successful beforehand of them. A 19-year-old miss said she was raped by soldiers aft they asked if she was a virgin.

The UNFPA has besides confirmed that astatine slightest 460 radical were killed by RSF fighters successful the el-Fasher maternity infirmary connected October 29.

The existent decease toll whitethorn person been overmuch higher, with patients, visitors, displaced radical and healthcare workers among those killed, it said.

More killings successful Kordofan

In the adjacent authorities of North Kordofan, the UN estimates that much than 36,000 radical person fled the Bara locality, which was captured by the RSF past week.

The UN says North Kordofan is apt to beryllium the adjacent battleground betwixt the RSF and the Sudanese army, arsenic authorities superior el-Obeid remains nether service control.

“Reports are besides emerging of superior violations successful the discourse of RSF seizure of Barra town, including the alleged summary execution of 5 Red Crescent volunteers. Our quality rights colleagues person besides received alarming reports of intersexual violence,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters connected Friday.

Mohammed Elsheikh, spokesperson for the Sudan Doctors Network, told Al Jazeera from Manchester successful the UK that radical fleeing Bara are successful precise mediocre health.

“It is simply a agelong locomotion betwixt Bara to el-Obeid city, done precise unsafe roads successful precise hard biology conditions. We’re talking a desert, truly precocious temperatures during the time and highly acold upwind astatine night,” helium said.

Bara has been a country of aggravated warring betwixt the service and the RSF, with the paramilitary radical making advances successful adjacent areas arsenic well.

In July, RSF fighters descended connected North Kordofan villages and burned them successful an attack that killed astir 300 people, including children and large women.