The Rapid Support Forces and allied troops have continued reinforcing earth barriers and trenches around El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, while imposing tighter restrictions on civilian movement, witnesses said on Thursday.
Witnesses, including humanitarian workers, told Darfur24 that the RSF had intensified fortification work along the city’s northern, western and southern approaches.
The city has recently seen a steady influx of civilians from displacement centres in Tawila and communities east of El Fasher. Many travelled to register for and receive cash assistance distributed by the Norwegian Refugee Council and other humanitarian organisations.
Some recipients had planned to leave the city after collecting the aid. However, the expanded barriers and trenches have further restricted their movement, witnesses said.
According to the accounts, only one accessible route remains—the road linking Zamzam displacement camp with El Fasher.
International reports and satellite imagery documented the RSF’s construction and expansion of a network of trenches and earth barriers around El Fasher in September 2025, when the paramilitary force was besieging and isolating the city.
The RSF has controlled El Fasher since late October 2025, when it seized the Sudanese army’s last major stronghold in the Darfur region.
