The Brutal Conflict: What Has Happened in the Darfur City?
Another devastating chapter in Sudan's brutal civil war has unfolded as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized El Fasher from the army following an 18-month siege that stranded tens of thousands residents in Darfur. The RSF now dominates all key cities in Darfur, a situation that increases concerns the country could face division.
Key Events in El Fasher Recently?
In a announcement on Sunday, the paramilitary forces said it had “taken over over the urban area of El Fasher from the grip of foreign fighters and militias”. The day after, Sudanese military leader, the general, stated that his troops had withdrawn from the city “to a safer position”, thereby conceding its loss.
Afterwards the group has been accused of killing numerous of unarmed civilians in targeted violence. The group has also been accused of hunting down specific individuals, arresting civilians, and freeing them only after receiving money – a pattern consistent with what happened after the RSF captured additional urban centers.
The academic Humanitarian Research Lab has reported the scale of violence is similar to the initial day of the Rwandan genocide.
How Do We Know About What Is Going On?
Foreign reporters are not present in Darfur, and media outlets have been unable to reach inhabitants in El Fasher, where the local press group states that connections have been cut off under a media blackout.
A lot of what is known about the atrocities has emerged from recordings – much of it recorded by the RSF themselves – geolocated by reporters and human rights analysts; accounts from survivors who fled to the adjacent area of Tawila; and, crucially, satellite image analysis carried out by the Yale lab.
Videos have surfaced showing “many of civilians being shot or deceased, surrounded by RSF fighters”, as per the international body. Separately, video shared by pro-democracy activists appeared to display bodies scattered on the area with burnt-out transport.
In a document released on the weekday, the Yale lab stated the city “appears to be in a organized and deliberate operation of ethnic cleansing of Fur, Zaghawa and Berti local communities through expulsion and killings”. Experts also noted what appeared to be “house-by-house searches” across the city, where militants went house to house committing a range of incidents of brutality.
The Yale team reported satellite images also showed significant “clusters” consistent with remains and red discoloration on the ground.
The Paramilitary Group and Background of Sudan’s Civil War?
The Rapid Support Forces was officially formed in 2013 from the remnants of the armed group, deputed by the country's previous ruler Omar al-Bashir to quell a uprising in the Darfur region. That operation concluded with the mass killings of up to 300,000 individuals.
A civil war between the RSF and the Sudanese army started in April 2023 after a power struggle between the sides, and the conflict quickly spread across the nation.
The two parties have been charged of a litany of abuses and war crimes against non-combatants. The international community and others have also concluded that the paramilitary has committed genocide and mass rape against ethnic Masalit and non-Arab groups in the region.
In the summer that year, famine was announced in the Zamzam camp for refugees, to the south of El Fasher. In April, the paramilitary murdered as many as 2,000 people when it took over the camp, which at the time housed a large number of people.
What Role Is the Global Actors Playing?
The world seemed to be placing some focus on the nation recently when a conference held in London assembled multiple nations, as well as the EU and regional body, to discuss the war. It was accompanied by several new pledges of aid, and was presented as an effort to build a new agreement on a way forward. But there was widespread concern that several of the countries at the gathering were reportedly engaged with the war, most notably the the Gulf state.
Sudan’s military government has alleged the UAE of providing weapons to the paramilitary, which the Emiratis have denied. In April, a leaked document found “multiple” flights from the Gulf nation, as transport planes made seemingly deliberate efforts to evade monitoring as they traveled into facilities in the neighboring country, where weapons trafficking across the border into the region has been monitored.
The UAE’s connection with the RSF can be linked to the 2015 Yemen war, where the RSF was used to recruit militants who were sent to Yemen to fight for the coalition. The nation's interest in Sudan is also due to its mineral resources, the majority which has found its way in the UAE in recent years.
