Sudan’s Nightmare: Mass Atrocities Reported in El Fasher as RSF Seizure Triggers
SUDAN’S NIGHTMARE has reached a new and horrifying peak as reports of mass atrocities and ethnically motivated killings emerge from El Fasher, North Darfur, following its capture by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The fall of the city, which was the last stronghold of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Darfur, has been described by human rights observers as the “final stage of the Darfur genocide.”
As a besieged population is now exposed to unbridled violence, the international community faces furious calls for immediate intervention to halt the carnage and prevent a further descent into large-scale ethnic cleansing across the already war-torn region.
Headline Points
• Siege Ends in Atrocity: The 18-month siege of El Fasher, North Darfur, ended with the RSF seizing control, reportedly unleashing summary executions and widespread violence against civilians.
• Hospital Massacre: The World Health Organization (WHO) condemned the reported killing of more than 460 patients and companions at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher.
• Ethnic Motivation: Reports from the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) indicate that the killings are ethnically motivated, raising the alarm for potential war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• Fleeing into Danger: Over 26,000 people have fled the city since the fall, facing further attacks, extortion, and sexual violence from RSF fighters along escape routes.
• International Paralysis: The UN Security Council condemned the atrocities but has been criticised for geopolitical rivalries leading to ineffective action to stop the flow of arms into Sudan.
The Fall of the Final Stronghold
The crisis came to a head earlier this week when the RSF overran the SAF’s 6th Infantry Division headquarters in El Fasher, forcing the army and allied militias to retreat.
This victory gives the RSF control over all five state capitals in Darfur, consolidating their grip on the western region of Sudan.
For the 260,000 civilians who had remained trapped in the city under a relentless 18-month siege, the fall brought not relief, but terror.
Reports detail scenes of chaos and brutality, with RSF fighters, many of whom are known to locals by their previous affiliation as the Janjaweed militia, engaging in house-to-house raids, summary executions, and targeting civilians attempting to flee.
The United Nations Human Rights Office has received “multiple alarming reports” of these atrocities, which include indications of ethnic motivations for the killings.
Targeting the Sick and Fleeing
One of the most sickening reports involves the deliberate attack on the Saudi Maternity Hospital—the city’s only partially functioning medical facility.
The WHO issued a strong condemnation following reports that over 460 patients and their companions were shot and killed inside the hospital, alongside the abduction of six healthcare workers.
The healthcare system in El Fasher has completely collapsed, with doctors and nurses being targeted, meaning the sick, the wounded, and malnourished children have virtually no access to life-saving care.
Meanwhile, civilians attempting to escape the violence face grave risks. Those who have fled, mostly heading west towards the town of Tawila, report being stripped of their belongings, extorted for ransom, and subjected to sexual assault by RSF fighters patrolling the escape routes.
The lack of communications and the sheer volume of armed groups in the area mean the true death toll and the full extent of the atrocities may never be known.
The World’s Worst Displacement Crisis
The tragedy in El Fasher only serves to deepen what the UN already labels one of the world’s worst humanitarian nightmares.
The conflict, which began in April 2023, has created the planet’s largest displacement crisis, with over 10 million people internally displaced and another 4 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries like Chad and South Sudan.
Those who remained in El Fasher, including an estimated 130,000 children, had been cut off from humanitarian aid since February 2025.
Malnutrition is now soaring, particularly among women and children, exponentially increasing the risk of infectious diseases like cholera and malaria in the absence of clean water and health services.
International Impotence Condemned
The international community, including the European Union, has issued strong condemnations of the RSF’s actions, urging an immediate humanitarian truce and accountability for war crimes.
The UN Security Council held an urgent briefing on the matter, with UN leaders describing the situation as “horrifying” and pointing to “external support” that continues to fuel the conflict with weapons and fighters.
However, critics from human rights groups and Sudanese civil society argue that the response has been woefully insufficient and that the geopolitical paralysis within the UN has effectively abandoned the people of Darfur.
They demand decisive action to halt the flow of arms to the warring parties and a commitment to protect civilians before El Fasher is fully engulfed in what many fear is a calculated act of ethnic cleansing.
