The United Nations has raised alarm over escalating violence in Sudan’s El-Fasher, where civilians are enduring severe attacks following the takeover by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Tens of thousands have fled, while many remain trapped amid worsening conditions.

Li Fung, the UN’s human rights representative in Sudan, described El-Fasher as “a city of grief” after 10 days of intensified attacks. “Civilians who survived 18 months of siege are now enduring atrocities of an unimaginable scale,” she said, noting that hundreds—including women, children, and the wounded—have been killed.

Entire families were reportedly slaughtered while attempting to flee, and many others have disappeared. The UN estimates that about 82,000 of El-Fasher’s pre-takeover population of 260,000 have fled the city since the RSF seized control on October 26.

Dire conditions for displaced people

Thousands of evacuees are struggling in nearby towns such as Tawila, where aid groups report desperate shortages of food, medicine, and shelter. Adam Rojal, spokesperson for Sudan’s IDPs and Refugee Camps aid group, said displaced families are surviving on just one meal per day.

Video footage from Tawila shows many makeshift shelters constructed from patched tarps and sheets. Humanitarian organizations warn of high levels of malnutrition, particularly among children. Mathilde Vu of the Norwegian Refugee Council noted that some families have arrived with children who are not their own, highlighting the disruption of family units.

Evidence of mass killings

Satellite imagery and reports from Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab suggest that mass killings took place in El-Fasher, with apparent pools of blood visible in affected areas. The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Turk, confirmed that civilians still trapped in the city are being prevented from leaving.

The displaced have fled to multiple towns, including Tawila, Kebkabiya, Melit, and Kutum, as the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen.

Conflict spreads to North Kordofan

The violence in Darfur has spilled over into the neighboring Kordofan region. In El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan province, a drone attack killed at least 40 people and injured dozens more earlier this week.

Locals fear an RSF assault after the group captured Bara, a town 60 km north of El-Obeid, which caused more than 36,000 people to flee. El-Obeid is strategically significant, sitting on a key supply route linking Darfur to Khartoum, approximately 400 km away.