Sudan’s conflict is drawing urgent international alarm as the last major city in Darfur outside paramilitary control has fallen.
U.N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented from Qatar, declaring that the war is “spiraling out of control” after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the famine-ravaged city of el-Fasher, describing the humanitarian situation as “one of the world’s worst crises.”
“Hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped by this siege,” Guterres said. “People are dying of malnutrition, disease and violence.” He cited “credible reports of widespread executions since the Rapid Support Forces entered the city.”
Reports indicate that over 450 people were massacred inside a hospital during the RSF’s capture of el-Fasher last week. Survivors and aid groups allege a series of ethnically-motivated killings, rapes, and looting, following an 18-month blockade that cut off nearly all food and medical supplies.
The RSF has rejected accusations of atrocities, but firsthand accounts, viral videos, and satellite imagery paint a troubling picture of devastation. Patchy communications across the region make it difficult to gauge the full scale of the violence.
War broke out in April 2023 between the RSF and Sudan’s military, leaving more than 40,000 dead by UN estimates, though aid workers believe the real toll is far higher. The conflict has uprooted 14 million people and triggered cholera and measles outbreaks. Two regions are already in full-blown famine, with others on the brink.
Guterres called for a ceasefire and urged the global community to halt the flow of weapons into Sudan. “We need to create mechanisms of accountability because the crimes that are being committed are so horrendous,” he said.
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Despite the chaos, civilians continue to flee. The UN’s migration agency says nearly 71,000 people have been displaced since the fall of el-Fasher. Many are trekking for days to reach overcrowded camps in Tawila and other towns.
One survivor, 27-year-old Habib Allah Yakoub, fled on foot with his pregnant wife after their home was destroyed. “We spent two days on the road, but thank God we finally arrived,” he said in an AP report, his arm in bandages after being shot while trying to collect water.
Another, 38-year-old Samiya Ibrahim, recalled being held hostage inside a besieged house. “The RSF had beaten and tortured us. They took all our belongings and did not leave us anything. Up till today, I have no idea where my husband is and whether he is alive or dead,” she said, clutching her child at a dusty camp in Garni.
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