As fighting in Sudan escalates and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seize control of El-Fasher— the last stronghold of the Sudanese army in Darfur—regional and international calls for action are intensifying amid reports of mass atrocities against civilians. The situation in the city is rapidly deteriorating, with warnings of a full-blown humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged region.
Egypt, a key regional player, reiterated its unwavering support for the Sudanese people. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tamim Khalaf said that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelaty met with his Sudanese counterpart Mohieddin Salem to reaffirm Egypt’s commitment to Sudan’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity. Egypt is also actively engaged in international and regional efforts to broker a ceasefire and facilitate a comprehensive humanitarian truce, especially to allow critical aid access to El-Fasher.
The European Union, in a strong condemnation, denounced the RSF’s brutal actions in the city, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas calling out the “ethnic targeting” of civilians as a shocking violation of human rights. Kallas urged both sides to de-escalate immediately, as international pressure mounts.
France has also expressed deep concern over the alleged summary executions carried out by RSF fighters in El-Fasher and the nearby town of Bara. Paris is calling for direct negotiations, facilitated by the “Quad” – the US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE – along with the African Union and the EU, to secure peace.
In a concerning development, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry ordered the expulsion of two senior officials from the World Food Programme (WFP) without explanation. The WFP warned that this could severely hamper aid operations at a time when over 24 million Sudanese people are facing food insecurity.
A new report from The Washington Post sheds light on the scale of the RSF’s brutality, citing video evidence, satellite imagery, and eyewitness accounts. According to the report, senior RSF commander Brigadier General Fathi Abdullah Idris, known as “Abu Lolo,” boasted of having personally killed over 2,000 people. Satellite imagery from Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab corroborates these claims, showing clusters of bodies and bloodstains visible from space—evidence of mass executions stretching for miles around the city.
Jacqueline Parlevliet, head of the UN Refugee Agency in Sudan, reported that tens of thousands of civilians have fled El-Fasher in recent days, while approximately 260,000 remain trapped in dire conditions. The UN has no safe access routes to the city, and Parlevliet described the crisis as “a rapidly escalating humanitarian and protection disaster.”
The Arab League, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have also condemned the RSF’s actions in El-Fasher and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The Arab League warned that the ongoing violence threatens Sudan’s national unity and regional stability, urging international coordination to end the bloodshed.
Since the outbreak of conflict on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and the RSF, more than 20,000 people have been killed, and over 15 million displaced, according to UN estimates. A US academic study, however, suggests that the death toll may be far higher, with numbers possibly exceeding 130,000. Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan has repeatedly vowed not to lay down arms until the RSF is defeated, rejecting any peace process that would allow the paramilitary group a political role in Sudan’s future. This hardline stance leaves the country’s future in an increasingly uncertain and volatile state.
