A growing wave of people is escaping el-Fasher after the Rapid Support Forces seized the city, with the UN warning that families are arriving in desperate condition and recounting shocking acts of violence.
The city in Sudan’s Darfur region had endured nearly a year and a half of siege before the fall, leaving residents starving, wounded and cut off from aid.
UNHCR teams say more than 60,000 civilians have already fled towards Tawila, about 80km away, as fear rises and reports of executions and abuse emerge. Eujin Byun from the UN refugee agency said new arrivals are sharing distressing testimonies of rape and other atrocities, while aid workers struggle to offer them food, shelter and medical care.
“Every child was suffering from malnutrition,” she said, describing the severe hunger seen among children reaching safety.
Many of those leaving el-Fasher say they walked long distances through dangerous routes, leaving behind neighbours and relatives who could not escape.
Aid officials estimate that over 150,000 people remain stuck in the city under conditions described as life-threatening, with shelling and hunger adding to the fear of further attacks.
The RSF has been accused of carrying out ethnic killings and widespread abuses as it tightened its grip on the city. Survivors say armed fighters stormed neighbourhoods, assaulting civilians and executing men suspected of opposing them.
The group has rejected the claims and insists the violence is not motivated by ethnicity.
However, the RSF said it has taken into custody a fighter known as Abu Lulu, who has been accused of carrying out summary executions. The arrest came after BBC Verify identified him in footage showing unarmed detainees being shot near el-Fasher.
TikTok confirmed it has taken down an account believed to be linked to him, though it is unclear whether he personally managed it.
Sudan’s war erupted in April last year after a political dispute between the army and the RSF over a plan to return the country to civilian rule.
The two factions had jointly taken power after the 2021 coup but later turned on each other, unleashing a conflict that has devastated the nation.
The fighting has triggered famine warnings, allegations of genocide in Darfur and the world’s largest displacement crisis, with about 12 million people forced from their homes and more than 150,000 deaths reported.
The fall of el-Fasher cements a deep divide in Sudan, with the RSF holding western and southern areas including much of Kordofan, while the army remains in the capital Khartoum and eastern regions along the Red Sea.
Humanitarian groups say they are struggling to keep pace with the growing number of displaced people and are urging the international community to urgently support relief efforts and secure safe corridors for those still trapped.
