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Nawal Khalil had been working as a healthcare worker for the past three years within the South El Fasher hospital when the city was seized last Sunday by the RSF fighters. She was actively caring for the sick, including an elderly woman requiring a blood transfusion, when the attack began.

“They killed six wounded soldiers along with civilians in their beds – among them female victims,” she recounts. “The outcome remains unknown to my other patients. I was forced to flee after they raided the medical facility.”

Khalil, 27, received a gunshot wound to her right foot and thigh as RSF fighters took control of the nearby military headquarters. She ran from the urban area and journeyed by foot for 24 hours, wounded and without nourishment, to arrive at Garney town. “On the way, they took my phone and currency,” she explains. “I possessed nothing remaining.”

In excess of 1,000 persons – comprising women and children – journeyed by walking for 48 hours to get to the settlement of Tawila located in northern Darfur following their escape from El Fasher, which fell under control after an 18-month siege.

Tawila, around 55 kilometers to the west from El Fasher, remains under the authority of the Sudan Liberation Army faction led by Abdul Wahid Mohamed al-Nur (SLA-AW).

On Tuesday, the Joint Forces – who are allied with Sudan’s army – accused the RSF with murdering over 2,000 civilians after the city's capture. United Nations officials stated there were videos depicting dozens of weaponless men being shot or lying dead, surrounded by RSF fighters.”

Historical Background

Hostilities commenced in Khartoum back on April 15, 2023 as an escalating power struggle involving the two key groups within the military government eventually resulted in fatalities.

From one perspective exist the official Sudanese army, that stay mostly faithful towards General al-Burhan, the de facto head of state. Challenging him are the paramilitaries belonging to the RSF, a collection of militias who follow the former warlord General Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

The Rapid Support Forces were first created by the ex-dictator Bashir's regime as an Arab counterinsurgency militia known as the Janjaweed, which quickly became synonymous with widespread atrocities. During 2013, Bashir converted the organization into the Rapid Support Forces, using them to quell a recent insurrection in southern Darfur.

The war has pushed Sudan into among the most severe humanitarian crises in contemporary history, based on UN statements. It has generated the planet's biggest displacement catastrophe, forcing more than 10 million persons within the country plus 4 million who escaped into neighbouring countries, generating growing stress upon Chad and South Sudan.

Ongoing Developments

Based on eyewitness accounts, many additional civilians stay confined by RSF forces and allied militias in Garney, south-west of El Fasher. Many are former soldiers belonging to the Sudanese military, the allied Joint Forces plus additional armed factions that had been fighting alongside the army. They are reportedly being held because they cannot afford extortion payments ranging from 5 to 10 million Sudanese pounds (around six to twelve thousand pounds), according to survivors who arrived in Tawila. Those unable to pay have been held for multiple days, and in some cases freed only when developing critical health conditions.

The SLA-AW has apparently permitted army soldiers running from El Fasher to come into Tawila provided they give up their weapons.

Adam Yagoub, twenty-eight years old, a motorist originating from Sennar within central Sudan, narrowly escaped being killed subsequent to his seizure by three armed men mounted on camels near Garney.

“They wanted to cut my head off with a blade,” he tells, showing his arm, which one of the fighters hit using an AK-47 rifle butt. “Subsequently one identified me – his sibling had collaborated with me – and urged them not to execute me. There were 18 of us who exited El Fasher as a group, yet merely eight reached Tawila. I believe the remainder perished.”

Yagoub reports he witnessed 22 deceased individuals in proximity to what he termed a fraudulent water source utilized by RSF forces and partner armed groups between Garney and Tawila. “It represents a trap,” he explains. “Individuals travel all day lacking water, and upon arriving there, the militiamen await. They slaughtered 22 men on that spot and removed the corpses to conceal them.”

A different medical worker who fled the El Fasher South medical facility following Sunday's assault said RSF fighters entered using one doorway and opened fire on patients in the ER section, killing at least eight. “We ran out via another entrance, yet they assaulted my head using a rifle,” he recounts.

In a video statement on Wednesday, the RSF commander, General Dagalo, referred to as Hemedti, declared that any fighter or commander who infringed upon the rights of any individual would face consequences.

Several people who got away from El Fasher passed hours hiding near the army’s artillery unit before fleeing west during nighttime. Previously displaced households from Abu Shouk camp in the city were forced to move again, seeking refuge in the Daraja Oula neighbourhood prior to ultimately traveling to Tawila.

Individuals seized by the RSF in Garney were reportedly given {water mixed with flour|flour