By Matik Kueth
Sudan’s last government stronghold in El-Fasher, Darfur, is teetering on the edge of a humanitarian disaster as fighting intensifies around the city after more than 500 days of siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, sounded the alarm on Thursday, warning that the city’s civilians face “the imminent risk of large-scale atrocities” if urgent action is not taken.
The threat has escalated with reports of RSF deploying long-range drones, sparking fears of a new phase of violence.
Between 19 and 29 September, at least 91 people were killed in relentless artillery strikes, drone attacks, and ground assaults.
The violence has struck at the heart of civilian life, with a mosque bombing on 19 September leaving 67 worshippers dead, while markets and community kitchens, lifelines for the displaced, have been deliberately targeted.
On 30th September alone, 23 civilians perished when shells rained down on a kitchen serving the Abu Shouk neighborhood.
Human rights monitors fear the strategy is not just military but also aimed at forced displacement, echoing ethnic-based abuses seen in previous RSF offensives.
Earlier this year, sexual violence against Zaghawa women and girls in Zamzam camp shocked the world, raising concern that similar atrocities could now unfold in El Fasher.
With food, water, and medicine running out, and prices soaring beyond reach, residents are left with few options.
“Atrocities are not inevitable; they can be averted if all actors take concrete action to uphold international law, demand respect for civilian life and property, and prevent the continued commission of atrocity crimes,” Türk emphasized, calling on armed groups to end the stranglehold and allow humanitarian aid.
The RSF and its allied Arab militias have repeatedly been accused of targeting non-Arab ethnic groups in Darfur, especially the Masalit, but also Zaghawa, Berti, and other African communities rather than Arab ones, according to the Human Rights Watch (HRW).
In West Darfur, especially in and around El Geneina, the Masalit have faced mass violence: massacres, sexual violence, summary executions, property destruction, and forced displacement.
The war between the Sudanese Army and the RSF has killed 40,000 people and displaced more than 12 million, with over 24 million others facing acute starvation since the conflict began on April 15, 20253, according to the United Nations.