EL-FASHER, DARFUR — At least 7,455 people fled the city of El-Fasher in western Sudan in just 24 hours amid renewed attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Tuesday. The new wave of flight raises the number of displaced residents to 33,485 over the past three days.
Sudanese authorities and international organizations have accused the RSF of committing “massacres and grave human rights violations” against civilians in the North Darfur capital, including “field executions,” arbitrary detentions, and forced displacement, during its assault that began Sunday.
The RSF denies the accusations, claiming it is “cleansing the city of El-Fasher” — the capital of North Darfur — from “remaining enemy pockets” as it presses its offensive to expel Sudanese army units and allied forces.
Thousands Flee in Days of Chaos
“In El-Fasher, teams estimated that 7,455 people were newly displaced on October 28 due to intensified clashes,” the IOM said in its latest update. The organization added that “a total of 33,485 people were displaced between October 26 and 28.”
On Monday, the IOM reported that 26,030 people had fled the city during the preceding two days, cautioning that the figures were preliminary and likely to rise as “insecurity worsens and the pace of displacement accelerates.”
Most of those fleeing El-Fasher have sought refuge in rural areas within the municipality, while others reached the towns of Tawila, Mellit, and Kabkabiya west of the city, the IOM said.
Before the RSF’s assault, El-Fasher’s population was estimated at around 500,000, down from nearly 1.5 million residents displaced in recent years by the Darfur conflict.
Reports of Hospital Executions
The Coordination Committee of Resistance Committees in El-Fasher — a local relief coalition — accused the RSF and allied Janjaweed militias of executing all wounded and injured patients inside the Saudi Hospital, describing the killings as “a horrific act committed against people between life and death.”
“The injured were waiting for a hand to reach out to them,” the committee said in a Tuesday statement. “Mercy vanished before medicine reached them. The hospitals fell silent — only the fading moans of the dying could be heard before they stopped altogether.”
Arab League Condemnation and International Calls for Accountability
The Arab League on Tuesday condemned “the horrific crimes committed against civilians” in El-Fasher and urged an immediate ceasefire. The organization demanded that all those responsible for violations be brought to justice, stressing that the city had been under siege by the RSF for more than a year.
Displacement in North Kordofan
Meanwhile, the IOM also reported new displacement in North Kordofan State, where insecurity continues to spread. On Monday, it said, about 1,850 people fled their homes in several towns due to escalating violence.
“In Um Dam Haj Ahmed town, roughly 1,000 residents were displaced on October 27 due to deteriorating security conditions,” the agency said. Another 285 fled from Um Rawaba in the same state under similar circumstances.
Local sources said RSF fighters attacked Um Dam Haj Ahmed the same day, committing abuses against civilians — allegations the RSF again denied.
Army Withdrawal and UN Appeals
The recent escalation followed fierce street battles in El-Fasher between the Sudanese army and RSF fighters, who on Sunday announced their control over large parts of the city, including the Sudanese army headquarters.
On Monday evening, Sudan’s Sovereign Council Chairman and armed forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan confirmed the army’s withdrawal from the El-Fasher military command, saying the move was intended to spare the city “further destruction and systematic killing” by the RSF.
In New York, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Denise Brown, called on the RSF to allow “safe corridors for civilians to leave El-Fasher, as they are at risk of injury and death.”
“El-Fasher has endured a siege for 500 days that prevented humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians,” Brown said.
War and Humanitarian Collapse
Since April 15, 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal war between the army and RSF, which has killed around 20,000 people and displaced more than 15 million, according to United Nations and local reports. A U.S. academic study estimates the real death toll could exceed 130,000.
As violence spreads and humanitarian conditions deteriorate, El-Fasher — once a refuge for those fleeing previous rounds of conflict — has become the latest epicenter of Sudan’s devastating war.
