Fresh testimonies from survivors fleeing the devastated city of el-Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur State paint a dire picture of widespread violence, mass casualties, and a humanitarian catastrophe. The accounts, emerging as thousands pour into the nearby town of Tawila, reveal a city ravaged by paramilitary attacks, starvation, and a breakdown of basic civil order.

⚠️ RSF Takeover: El-Fasher Plunged Into Chaos and Death

On October 26, 2025, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—a powerful paramilitary group locked in a brutal conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)—captured el-Fasher after an 18-month siege. The loss marked the fall of the last major city in Darfur held by government forces, solidifying the RSF’s dominance across the conflict-wracked region.

The city, once home to more than a million people, has become synonymous with horror. Satellite imagery reviewed by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab detected at least 31 sites appearing to show mass bodies, accompanied by pools of blood and “reddish ground discolouration”—an indication of potential executions or mass graves.

🗣️ Survivors Share Scenes of Horror: ‘Dead Bodies Were Everywhere’

54-year-old Fatima Yahya reached Tawila after three days without food or water. Her voice trembling, she described her escape from el-Fasher:

“The dead bodies were everywhere – in the streets, inside houses, at the gates. Wherever you were, you’d see corpses scattered.”

Yahya’s experience is echoed by dozens of others who managed to escape the carnage. Many remain separated from family members—some detained, others killed, and thousands lost in the chaos.

🚶‍♀️ Grueling Escape Under Fire: ‘We Fled While Shells Fell Around Us’

Farhat Said, another survivor, recalled a torturous two-day escape with her daughter, walking and running under bombardment from RSF forces. Injured by artillery fire, she left behind her husband—too wounded to move—and her young son, out of fear that boys might be targeted at RSF checkpoints.

“My son asked me to escape, but he stayed behind to protect his father,” she said. “The journey was unbearable. We arrived with nothing.”

Similarly, Khadiga Abdalla, widowed by earlier RSF shelling, fled with her two young children after months of starvation. Residents had resorted to eating ambaz—residue from oilseed pressing typically used to feed livestock.

“We lived on animal feed. There was nothing else,” she said. Her son has been hospitalised with severe shock, and other family members remain missing.

🏥 Unofficial Siege: Hospitals Attacked, Children Malnourished

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the killing of at least 460 patients in coordinated RSF attacks on the Saudi Maternity Hospital in el-Fasher. Health workers were also abducted, prompting global alarm.

Aid group Doctors Without Borders reported high levels of acute malnutrition among children arriving in Tawila, which now hosts an estimated 652,000 displaced people. Many show signs of torture, gunshot wounds, and the effects of long-term starvation.

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🔍 No Mass Exodus: Civilians Fear Capture, Death Over Flight

Despite more than 70,000 people fleeing el-Fasher since the takeover (according to the International Organization for Migration), aid workers say arrivals are far fewer than expected.

Yale researchers observed no major refugee caravans, unlike earlier mass displacements—leading them to conclude:

“The majority of civilians are dead, captured, or in hiding.”

ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric called the situation “horrific,” warning that tens of thousands may be trapped in the rubble of the destroyed city without access to food, water, or medical aid.

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💣 Global Community Demands Action: ‘Indiscriminate Violence Must End’

International outrage is building. Pope Leo XIV condemned the violence, decrying “indiscriminate attacks against women, children, and unarmed civilians.” He called for immediately opening humanitarian corridors and a permanent ceasefire.

In the United States, bipartisan senators urged the State Department to officially label the RSF a “foreign terrorist organization.” Republican Senator Jim Risch stated:

“This violence is intentional, not accidental. It must be stopped.”

The RSF has reportedly arrested several fighters involved in recent killings—though activists say such moves offer little comfort to victims still trapped or missing.

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😔 ‘We Pray to God’: Survivors Face Bleak Future in Overcrowded Camps

For survivors like Yahya, Said, and Abdalla, life in Tawila’s crowded displacement camps is far from safe. Clean water, food, medical supplies, and shelter remain in short supply, according to local coordinators.

One aid worker told Al Jazeera:

“We’re overwhelmed. The scale of suffering is too big to manage with the resources we have.”

As humanitarian agencies plead for more global support, the survivors of el-Fasher carry their trauma into an uncertain future.

“We pray to God to help us,” Said said—her broken words echoing the desperate hope of thousands.