At least 14 civilians were killed and dozens more wounded or detained by paramilitary forces as they attempted to flee El-Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur, a Sudanese rights group reported Monday.
The Emergency Lawyers, a civil network monitoring atrocities in the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), said the killings occurred on Saturday on the outskirts of El-Fasher, where hundreds of thousands remain trapped under siege conditions with little access to aid or humanitarian services.
“Dozens more were injured and an unknown number of civilians detained,” the group stated, warning of escalating violence as RSF forces renew their push to seize the city.
The RSF has maintained a blockade around El-Fasher since May 2024, but has so far failed to dislodge Sudanese army troops defending the city. In recent days, the paramilitary group renewed its offensive, triggering mass attempts by civilians to escape the fighting.
The killings followed a Thursday video appeal from Al-Hadi Idris, the RSF-appointed governor of Darfur, urging residents to evacuate the city and head to the nearby village of Qarni.
“I call on you to leave El-Fasher and head to Qarni, the northwest gate of the city, where our forces and the Tasis alliance forces are located and will ensure your safety,” Idris said.
But according to the Emergency Lawyers, it was on that very route under RSF control that the civilians were attacked and killed.
The RSF-led Tasis alliance, which recently declared a rival government based in Nyala, South Darfur, is accused of numerous war crimes, particularly in the western region where intercommunal and ethnic violence has surged since the outbreak of war in April 2023.
Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
The United Nations has repeatedly raised alarm about the catastrophic conditions in El-Fasher, warning that hundreds of thousands of civilians are running out of food, water, and medicine.
Many families have reportedly been forced to survive on animal feed, with aid agencies unable to deliver supplies due to the siege and ongoing fighting.
If the RSF succeeds in capturing El-Fasher, it would gain full control over the entire Darfur region a vast, conflict-ridden part of western Sudan and significantly expand its territorial dominance across southern Sudan.
Since the war erupted 27 months ago, tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced. The UN has described the situation as the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis, with fears growing of further atrocities as the conflict drags on.
International pressure is mounting for a ceasefire and humanitarian access, but efforts at mediation have repeatedly failed as both sides seek to consolidate territory ahead of any negotiated settlement.