Days after Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, in a violent assault that included the killing of more than 400 people at a hospital, aid groups warn that tens of thousands of civilians are at risk amid continuing violence, including some that may be trapped in el-Fasher and others harmed while fleeing.
Why It Matters
Sudan’s civil war between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has raged since April 2023, with numerous reports of brutal violence and worsening humanitarian conditions. The United Nations has called it the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, pointing to the nearly 14 million people displaced. The Associated Press reports that 40,000 people have been killed, although international aid groups estimate that number to be higher at 150,000. Mass famine and extreme weather conditions has exacerbated difficult conditions.
Last week, reports from aid groups and the World Health Organization (WHO) about RSF activity at Saudi Hospital in el-Fasher—where fighters killed 460 patients and others—fueled growing concern about the conflict and the conditions in the city. There have been multiple reports of violations of international humanitarian law by different actors, including indiscriminate attacks, assaults on civilians and ethnically motivated violence in the ongoing conflict.
What To Know
Following the RSF's takeover of el-Fasher, tens of thousands of people were expected to flee. However, many aid groups and people working in the closest refugee camp in nearby Tawila, have reported low numbers of arrivals, raising fears that many civilians are trapped in the city or were killed.
The U.N. migration agency, International Organization of Migration (IOM), reported on October 31 that more than 36,000 people have fled el-Fasher. On Sunday, the AP reported the agency estimates that a total of 70,894 people have been displaced since the RSF took control.
However, as of Sunday, only around 6,000 Sudanese have reached Tawila, which is a couple days walk, the Norwegian Refugee Council told the AP. The group previously said in an October 31 press release that about 5,000 people had arrived, adding, "We fear that many civilians have been detained, disappeared, or killed as they fled to safety. Those who make it arrive exhausted, starved, injured and traumatized. People report facing armed checkpoints, extortion, arbitrary arrests, detention, looting, sexual violence and harassment along the way."
The group's country director, Shashwat Saraf, also noted in a Sunday statement that many of the families were separated and are awaiting reunification of their relatives. Saraf, who is on the ground in Tawila, told the AP, “The numbers are still very few. We are not seeing the hundreds of thousands that we were expecting. If people are still in el-Fasher, it will be very difficult for them to survive."
Calls are growing amid aid groups over the low number of people reaching the nearby camp. In a Sunday X post, the Sudan Doctors Network said RSF continues to "detain thousands of civilians inside the city of El Fasher, preventing them from leaving after confiscating all means of transportation used to evacuate displaced people." It also said that the group has "forcibly returned a number of those who tried to flee back into the city — among them are individuals wounded by gunfire while attempting to escape, as well as others suffering from malnutrition."
New arrivals to the camps describe harrowing escapes and widespread violence in the western city. A spokesperson for the UN OHCHR said on Friday, “At least 25 women were gang raped when RSF’s forces entered a shelter for displaced people near El Fasher University. Witnesses confirm RSF’s personnel selected women and girls and raped them at gunpoint."
What People Are Saying
Michel Olivier Lacharité, head of emergencies at Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said in an October 31 statement: "The arrival numbers [at Tawila] don’t add up, while accounts of large-scale atrocities are mounting. Where are all the missing people who have already survived months of famine and violence in El Fasher?"
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Sudan said in a November 1 X post: "Conditions in Tawila are dire: safe water is limited, markets have collapsed, food, fuel and medical supplies are nearly depleted."
Mathilde Vu, advocacy manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council, which manages the camp in Tawila where many are expected to have fled to, told AP on Thursday: “The number of people who made it to Tawila is very small and that should be a concern for all of us. Where are the others? That tells the horror of the journey.”
David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, said in a statement on Wednesday: “The fact that we are seeing so few people arriving safely in Tawila should alarm everyone. It raises urgent warnings about what is happening to those trying to flee El Fasher. Safe passage for civilians must be guaranteed, aid must be scaled up and funded now, and all parties must respect their obligation to protect civilians. The world cannot turn away from yet another chapter of horror in Darfur.”
Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, said in an October 28 statement: "The reports emerging from El Fasher are horrifying. The RSF must immediately end attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure and allow humanitarian aid into the city. They must also guarantee safe passage for civilians who are trying to flee the violence."
What Happens Next?
Violence continues across the country, and aid groups are working to secure enough supplies for new arrivals, though the flow of people out of el-Fasher appears to have slowed.
