The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has nearly consolidated control over its stronghold in Darfur, amid an all-out civil war between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) that erupted in April 2023.
The RSF’s siege on North Darfur’s capital, El-Fasher, has led to severe shortages of food and medicine, with residents surviving on a single meal a day.
According to Magdy Yousef, a resident of El-Fasher and member of the Emergency Response Rooms, “There are only five community kitchens remaining in El-Fasher… each one provides a meal to just 3,000 people. We have reached the point of famine.”
The RSF’s actions have been marked by grave abuses, including genocide and systematic sexual violence, according to United Nations experts and local and international monitors.
Ahmed Abubakr Imam, a 27-year-old who joined the Popular Resistance to defend his community, stated that “The RSF militia clearly doesn’t distinguish between civilians and fighters.”
Imam fears for the safety of his family, particularly his three-year-old sibling, and believes that “If the militia RSF didn’t target civilians, then all the civilians would have left El-Fasher by now.”
Civilians attempting to escape El-Fasher face significant risks, including detention, killing, and abduction.
Men suspected of being fighters are frequently detained and killed, while women and children are abducted.
Imam’s concerns are echoed by Yousef, who notes that “the RSF is targeting all young men leaving the city, so most are staying put, despite the starvation and hunger [in El-Fasher]. Maybe their families can try to leave, but it’s far too dangerous for young men.”
The RSF’s construction of desert berms around El-Fasher has created a “literal kill box” around the city, according to the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab.
Mohamed Zakaria, a journalist in El-Fasher, reported that the berms stand about 3 meters high, and nobody can climb the walls unless pulled up.
The humanitarian situation in El-Fasher continues to deteriorate, with food stocks almost entirely depleted and food convoys attacked by drones.
Families are forced to survive on tree leaves or animal feed known as “ambaz.” Yousef emphasized that ERRs volunteers are trying to purchase food, run community kitchens, and provide medicine to help the most vulnerable people in the city.
The ongoing assault on Abu Shouk displacement camp, northwest of El-Fasher, has led to a significant number of people fleeing, with about 80% of the camp’s 190,000 residents already displaced.
The United Nations accused the RSF of summarily executing 16 men from Abu Shouk as part of a wider attack that killed dozens of people.