Aid Group Accuses Sudan’s RSF of “Massacre” in El Fasher as UN Warns of Deepening Crisis

Dozens of civilians have reportedly been killed in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, as Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed control of the city, prompting warnings from the United Nations of an escalating humanitarian disaster.

The Sudan Doctors Network, a volunteer medical organization, accused the RSF of carrying out “ethnically based executions” and a “horrific massacre” in the city. The group said hospitals and pharmacies were looted, leaving the wounded and sick without access to treatment.

According to Xinhua, thousands of civilians attempting to flee El Fasher faced the risk of being detained or killed. The Coordination of Resistance Committees in the city appealed for international intervention to establish safe corridors for those trapped by the fighting.

In a statement on Sunday, the RSF said it had taken full control of El Fasher, describing the development as “a pivotal moment” given the city’s “symbolic, strategic, and military significance.”

El Fasher had been the Sudanese army’s last major stronghold in the Darfur region, which has been under siege by RSF forces for months. Sudanese army leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan confirmed that troops had withdrawn from the city.

Sudan’s Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism condemned what it described as “massacres, killings, torture, looting, and robbery against unarmed civilians” by RSF fighters in El Fasher and the nearby town of Bara, in the neighboring Kordofan region.

The United Nations and aid agencies expressed grave concern over the worsening situation. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it was tracking new waves of displacement, as families fled with limited access to food, water, and shelter.

Residents of El Fasher remain “trapped and terrified — shelled, starving, and without access to healthcare or safety,” the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said, calling for an immediate ceasefire “in El Fasher, in Darfur, and throughout Sudan.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of a “terrible escalation” of violence, while OCHA head Tom Fletcher urged all parties to allow civilians safe passage.

In Bara, the Sudan Doctors Network reported that RSF forces executed at least 47 unarmed civilians, including nine women, accusing them of alleged ties to the Sudanese army. The group also documented cases of looting, kidnappings, and other abuses.

Sudan’s civil war, now entering its third year, pits the Sudanese Armed Forces against the RSF. The bloody conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and pushed vast areas of the country to the brink of famine, despite repeated international calls for a ceasefire.