General Abdel Fattah al Burhan admitted his army (SAF) had withdrawn from the strategic city of El-Fasher, yielding control to the RSF. Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in western Darfur, enduring an 18-month siege by the Rapid Support Forces.
Burhan announced the withdrawal on national television, promising revenge and vowing to “purify” the land. The RSF’s capture of El-Fasher marks a potential turning point in Sudan’s brutal civil war, ongoing since April 2023.
The city’s fall gives the RSF control of all five Darfur state capitals, consolidating its parallel administration in Nyala. Burhan’s army is now limited to northern, eastern, and central regions, excluded from a third of the country’s territory.
Experts warn this territorial division increases the risk of partition and a deepening of Sudan’s decades-long conflicts. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation a “terrible escalation” and described the humanitarian suffering as “unbearable.”
UN rights chief Volker Turk cautioned that El-Fasher faces rising risks of ethnically motivated violations and potential atrocities. The city’s fall underscores the intensifying danger for civilians as Sudan teeters on the brink of deeper fragmentation.
