Report by Amal Yahya of Jabraka News for Sudan Media Forum
Displaced people camps in the Tawila area of North Darfur have been living in fear and panic since the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were able to take control of the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, and the last stronghold of the Sudanese army in the region.
The sounds of crying and wailing do not subside in the camps, and anxiety hangs over the faces of the displaced people whose families have been cut off amid the spiral of war and destruction.
Fatima Hilal, a displaced woman in Tawila camp, says in a trembling voice overwhelmed with anxiety: “Since last Sunday, we have been living in extreme tension, we do not know the fate of our people in El Fasher. “Every tent here has someone who has lost someone or is waiting for news about their family.”
“We don’t know if they are alive or killed, or if our women were raped. We live under endless fear, we fear for those who remain of us as we fear for those who have left.”
The United Nations says 1,350 civilians have been killed in El Fasher since Sunday, a figure “below the total”, while the Darfur regional government says about 2,000 have been killed, according to its figures.
Murder and looting
Following the announcement of the RSF’s takeover of El Fasher, videos circulated showing these forces committing murders, looting, looting, and arresting people on identification.
Since then, civilians in El Fasher have been cut off, with many fleeing in an attempt to escape the deteriorating situation. These events are deeply concerned about the fate of women and children in these volatile situations.
To this day, the residents of El Fasher are living in a state of panic and fear, as they are subjected to serious violations at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces, as videos circulating on news platforms and social media sites show, raising questions about the practices and ongoing violations of these forces.
Complete isolation
Mariam Hamed, a bereaved mother who is in tears, recounts her tragedy to “Jabraka News”, saying: “The Rapid Support killed my son in El Fasher, and they left me with nothing in this world,” adding: “They killed my two brothers, and they burned my stomach in my prison. There is no house in Darfur but sadness in it.”
Since the start of the recent battles in El Fasher, the city’s residents have been living in complete isolation after the disconnection of Starlink, which was the only means of communication with the outside world. Local sources indicate that those who run it left the city after the fighting intensified, making it almost impossible to know the situation of civilians.
Videos posted on RSF pro-RSF pages show horrific scenes of destruction and suffering in the southern neighbourhoods of El Fasher, as civilians flee on foot through rough roads in search of safety.
Tears and anxiety have become the language of daily life in the city of Tawila, where displaced people live in the hope of receiving reassuring news about their loved ones in El Fasher. But until now, the fate of civilians remains completely unknown, while a heavy silence hangs over the air, as if a harbinger of a larger tragedy.
Disconnection
Human rights activist Mohammed Abdullah told Jabraka News that the humanitarian situation in the city of El Fasher is not completely clear due to the interruption of communications and the difficulty of accessing reliable sources, but field indicators and videos published on social media – especially by the Rapid Support – indicate that the situation is very bad.
Fierce battles led to the situation completely spiralling out of control after the fall of the military division in the city, he said, and there is only confirmed information documenting the executions of civilians in the hands of the Rapid Support Forces.
Some civilians managed to escape, but communication with them is difficult, he said, noting that there have been reports of serious violations against those fleeing the city and inside it, including physical assaults, sexual violence, and summary executions.
A source in the Abqamra area was also quoted as saying that civilians who tried to leave El Fasher, especially women and children, were attacked by drones.
He pointed out that the city is witnessing a complete collapse of security and a complete absence of international monitoring agencies and humanitarian bodies, including the United Nations and human rights organizations, which increases the seriousness of the humanitarian situation and the ongoing violations.
For his part, the official spokesman for the displaced and refugees, Adam Rijal, told “Jabraka News” that 360 families and 1,117 individuals were displaced from El Fasher to the Tawila area on October 27, 2025, bringing the total number of displaced families to 831 families and 3038 individuals.
“These families are living in critical humanitarian conditions and need basic services such as water, health care, food, shelter and protection,” he said.
He stressed that violations have been committed against civilians coming from El Fasher, which increases the urgent need for humanitarian aid.
In a brief statement, the Coordination of Resistance Committees in the city of El Fasher called on all local and international parties to take urgent action to protect civilians, following the escalation of violations against residents fleeing the city.
In a statement seen by Jabraka News, the Coordination stressed that those who remain inside El Fasher will continue to resist and resist despite the harsh conditions, stressing that silence in the face of ongoing crimes is considered collusion with the aggressors.
The fate of media professionals
The Darfur Women Journalists Forum issued a statement on Monday (October 27th) condemning the arrest of journalist Muammar Ibrahim by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after they took control of the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division in the city of El Fasher.
The forum held the support forces fully responsible for his safety, demanding his immediate and unconditional release.
Social media circulated a video showing Al Jazeera correspondent Muammar Ibrahim being detained by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), speaking at gunpoint, in a scene that reflects the magnitude of the danger faced by media workers in the city of El Fasher.
The Darfur Women Journalists Forum expressed grave concern over the loss of contact with a number of women journalists due to the suspension of telecommunications services in North Darfur, which has left their situation and fate unknown until now.
The forum called on international press freedom organizations to take urgent action to protect journalists in the region and stop targeting them, stressing that the protection of media professionals is a legal and moral obligation that cannot be postponed.
In the same context, the governor of the Darfur region and the head of the Sudan Liberation Army, Minni Arko Minawi, stated on his account on the “X” platform that the fall of the city of El Fasher does not mean that the future of Darfur should be abandoned in favour of violent groups or the interests of corruption and labour, according to him.
He called for the protection of civilians and the disclosure of the fate of the displaced, calling for an “independent investigation into the violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) out of sight”. Every inch of the territory will return to its people, he said.
Summary executions
The UN Human Rights Office warned of a serious escalation of violations in the cities of El Fasher in North Darfur and Bara in North Kordofan, after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of large parts of them over the past few days, pointing to reports of summary executions against civilians and besieged people trying to flee the fighting.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the situation in El Fasher had become extremely dangerous since the RSF announced its control of the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division, warning of the risk of large-scale tribal-motivated atrocities taking place day by day.
In a statement on Monday, October 27, 2025, Türk called for urgent measures to protect civilians and secure safe passage for the besieged, calling on the RSF to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law, and to prevent revenge attacks and violence based on tribal identity.
The UN office said the RSF carried out summary executions of civilians who tried to flee El Fasher, including five men killed for trying to bring food aid into the besieged city for 18 months.
The UN has also received reports of hundreds of fugitives being detained, including journalists, as well as fears of widespread sexual violence against women and girls.
In its latest data, it pointed out that more than 1,350 people were killed in the city of El Fasher, while the Darfur Regional Government confirmed that the number has reached 2,000 people since the Rapid Support Forces took control of the city.
The United Nations stressed the need to hold accountable all parties involved in violations of international law, stressing that ensuring accountability is the only way to stop the cycle of repeated atrocities in Sudan.
As the battles continue in El Fasher, the fate of civilians remains unknown, and concerns for their safety and security are increasing, especially in light of the recent violations they are subjected to by the Rapid Support Forces.
This article is published by the Sudan Media Forum and its members, and it is prepared by the Jabraka News platform. The article reflects the situation of civilians who fled the city of El Fasher to avoid the inevitable death that awaits them at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces. The article surveys the conditions of some grieving women who arrived in the city of Tawila, and documents the preliminary statistics of the victims, who have reached 2,000 deaths in some estimates.
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