For 18 months, the crisis in El Fasher, a city in Sudan’s Darfur region, unfolded in plain view. Last week, the city, which had been under siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), fell to the militia, and the aftermath has been catastrophic.
Mass killings are now taking place. Reports indicate that in just one maternity hospital, nearly 500 people—patients and their families—were killed. Those who escaped describe civilians being executed on the spot. The RSF has launched such a violent campaign against civilians that satellite images show blood soaking the ground. War monitors are already comparing the speed and brutality of these killings to the first day of the Rwandan genocide.
This marks the climax of a strategy that trapped hundreds of thousands of people in the city, leaving them to starve. Anyone trying to flee faced death or rape, while those who stayed endured bombings and survived on animal feed.
El Fasher was the Sudanese military’s last stronghold in Darfur, and its fall represents a critical turning point in Sudan’s war. For two and a half years, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF have been locked in a brutal struggle for control of the country.
Once partners in a tense coalition with civilians after the 2019 revolution that ousted President Omar al-Bashir, both groups turned against the people and then each other. Their eventual clash revealed the extent of the RSF’s hidden power and resources. Originally formed by Bashir from Janjaweed fighters to protect him and fight in Darfur, the RSF had grown into a formidable force. The war that erupted in April 2023 was not a conflict between the military and a small militia, but a battle between two armies, each with weapons, funding, thousands of troops, and external supply lines.
Since then, millions have been displaced, an estimated 150,000 killed, and over 30 million are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Yet these numbers fail to capture the full extent of Sudan’s collapse—the destruction of infrastructure and the RSF’s merciless campaign in Darfur.
With the capture of El Fasher, the RSF has strengthened its hold on western Sudan. After seizing the capital, Khartoum, early in the war only to lose it to the military, the RSF shifted its focus to Darfur. There, it has targeted non-Arab populations in ethnic massacres. Earlier this year, the RSF killed hundreds of civilians along ethnic lines in an attack on Sudan’s largest displacement camp. What lies ahead for El Fasher, which resisted the RSF for so long, is unimaginable. Emerging videos show locals begging militiamen for their lives. In one instance, a commander told a civilian, “I will never have mercy on you. Our job is only killing,” before shooting them.
This tragedy was both predicted and preventable. For months, warnings had been issued about the risk of mass slaughter and atrocities. A million displaced Darfuris, who had sought refuge in El Fasher after fleeing other conflicts, were concentrated there. As fighting escalated, they were forced to scatter again or became trapped. The situation echoes not only the early days of the Rwandan genocide but also Darfur’s genocide 20 years ago, only now it is more concentrated and intense. The RSF today is the Janjaweed of the past, but even more powerful and ruthless.Now better equipped than ever, with strong foreign backing and a renewed determination to drive out non-Arab communities they have opposed for decades, they advance not on camels or horses but in 4×4 trucks armed with machine guns and advanced drones.
This firepower—and the resulting disaster in El Fasher and across Darfur—is funded by the United Arab Emirates. A long-standing ally of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), whom the UAE previously hired to fight in Yemen, the Emirates has supplied the militia with money and weapons, prolonging and intensifying Sudan’s conflict. Despite clear evidence, the UAE denies its involvement. In exchange, it gains influence in a large, strategically located, resource-rich nation and receives most of the gold mined in RSF-held territories.
Other external players have also entered the fray, imposing their own agendas on a domestic war. The outcome is a bloody stalemate that appears unstoppable, even as the crisis unfolds in plain sight.
Though often called a forgotten war, the conflict in Sudan is in fact ignored and pushed aside. Confronting the horror there means facing the grim reality of regional and global politics. It reveals the expanding imperialist influence of certain Gulf states in Africa and highlights how no real pressure is placed on them—including the UAE—to stop supporting a genocidal militia, because countries like the UK and US are their close allies. As the RSF closed in on El Fasher last year, sources reported that UK officials tried to silence African diplomats’ criticism of the UAE. Recently, British military gear used by the RSF was discovered on Sudanese battlefields.
In Sudan, two military forces are locked in a war neither can win. Internationally, foreign policy has shifted from a blend of diplomacy and moral influence to the bare pursuit of power and profit by strong nations.
The atrocities in El Fasher and Darfur—visible even from space—are too glaring to ignore. This is a repeat of past tragedies and a new phase in a prolonged conflict whose outcome is all too predictable. Those with influence over the UAE, and therefore the RSF, who fail to act urgently, share responsibility for the bloodshed. Most of El Fasher’s residents are trapped in a killing zone. Every moment matters.
Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the severe violence in Sudan designed with clear natural questions and direct simple answers
Basic Understanding The Current Situation
1 What is happening in Sudan right now
A violent conflict is raging between the Sudanese Armed Forces and a powerful paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces This has led to widespread destruction death and a severe humanitarian crisis
2 Who is fighting in Sudan and what are they fighting for
The two main sides are the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces They are former allies who joined to seize power in 2021 but are now fighting each other for control of the country
3 What does it mean that the violence is visible from space
Satellites have detected massive fires smoke plumes and the widespread destruction of entire neighborhoods particularly in the capital Khartoum This shows the immense scale of the conflict from a global perspective
4 How long has this conflict been going on
The current intense fighting between the SAF and RSF began on April 15 2023 However Sudan has a long history of conflict and political instability
5 Is this a civil war
Many experts and international organizations now classify the conflict as a civil war as it involves two organized armed groups fighting for control of the state with severe consequences for the entire population
Impact on People Daily Life
6 How are ordinary people being affected
Millions of people are trapped without enough food clean water or medical care Many have been forced to flee their homes and basic services like electricity and banking have collapsed in many areas
7 Why is there a risk of famine
The fighting has destroyed farms disrupted supply chains and made it impossible for aid to reach people This combined with an existing economic crisis has created a catastrophic food shortage
8 What is the humanitarian situation like
It is one of the worst in the world There are severe shortages of everything food water medicine and fuel Diseases are spreading and hospitals have been bombed or looted
International Response Deeper Issues
9 Why isnt the world doing more to stop this
Diplomatic efforts have struggled because both sides have continued fighting despite cease
