According to a UN report, displacement has increased in El-Fasher as paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) increased their attacks on the capital of North Darfur.
Since the start of Sudan’s civil war, more than one million people have fled El-Fasher, with the exodus significantly growing as the RSF launches more attacks after losing control of Khartoum earlier this year, according to data released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
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According to the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, the number of internally displaced people (IDP) living in El-Fasher decreased by 70% between March and September, from about 699 000 to 204 000.
El-Fasher’s population overall has decreased by 62 percent from its 1.11 million pre-war population to just 413, 454 people.
Sharp decline
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) seized Khartoum in late March, which led to the RSF’s decision to retake control of Darfur. The last significant urban stronghold for the army is El-Fasher.
Nearly 500, 000 people have been displaced from the Zamzam IDP camp in one incident, making it one of the most violent months this year.
Since April 2023, the Sudanese army has been fighting the RSF for control of the nation, causing what has been widely regarded as the largest humanitarian crisis ever.
The majority of the population has fled to neighboring countries, with Egypt and Chad accounting for the majority.
Nearly 1.2 million people will be able to cross-border migrate to Chad in 2025, up 45 percent year over year.
Those who cannot leave the nation have been relocated to nearby communities. Between March and September, the IDP population in the Tawila neighborhood more than doubled from 238 to 576.
Since May 2024, the RSF has been laying siege on El-Fasher, blocking all supply routes and locking up an estimated 260, 000 civilians, including 130, 000 children, without continuing to provide humanitarian aid for more than 16 months.
The Yale Humanitarian Lab, which has been monitoring the conflict, reported satellite imagery that showed earthen berms constructed by the RSF almost encircling the city, preventing the movement of goods and people.
In recent weeks, there has been an increase in violence. More than 70 worshippers were killed by a drone attack in a mosque on Friday during the UN’s annual international human rights day, raising concerns about the possibility of “ethnically motivated” killings if the city falls to the RSF.
According to reports, the RSF frequently film themselves yelling racist slurs at their victims while targeting non-Arab populations in Darfur.
Both sides were charged with committing atrocities by UN investigators in early September. According to them, the RSF is “murder, torture, enslavement, rape, sexual slavery, sexual violence, forced displacement, and persecution on ethnic, gender, and political grounds.”
The humanitarian situation is getting worse in the interim.
In the August survey, 87 percent of households indicated they needed medical care, while 78 percent were unable to get treatment because of broken equipment, insecurity, or lack of medicine.
Food security has drastically decreased, with 89 percent of households experiencing subpar or borderline food consumption.
More than 1,100 serious crimes against children have been reported in El-Fasher since the siege began, including over 1, 000 fatalities or mutilations, according to UNICEF.
The wider war’s course has turned to the battle for El-Fasher.
Important city
While government forces occupy the north and the east, the RSF maintains control over the majority of western Sudan, including nearly all of Darfur.
The RSF and its allies made the widely criticized “parallel government” in the nation known in July, underscoring the country’s growing political divide.
El-Fasher’s fall, in El-Fasher’s case, would essentially give the paramilitary force control of Darfur.
