Sudan's Devastating Civil War: Key Developments in El Fasher?
A new tragic phase in Sudan's brutal civil war has occurred as the armed Rapid Support Forces captured the strategic city from the national military following an 18-month siege that stranded tens of thousands residents in the region. The paramilitary group now dominates all major urban centres in Darfur, a situation that raises the possibility the nation could face division.
Key Events in El Fasher This Week?
In a statement on Sunday, the paramilitary forces declared it had “taken over over the urban area of the location from the hold of foreign fighters and armed groups”. The following day, Sudanese military leader, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, stated that his forces had withdrawn from the city “to a safer location”, effectively admitting its loss.
Since then the group has been alleged of killing hundreds of unarmed civilians in targeted attacks. The group has also been charged of hunting down particular people, arresting locals, and freeing them only after obtaining ransom payments – a practice consistent with what occurred after the paramilitary took over additional urban centers.
The academic Humanitarian Research Lab has said the scale of atrocities is similar to the first 24 hours of the Rwandan genocide.
How Do We Know About What Is Going On?
International reporters are not present in Darfur, and media outlets have been unable to contact inhabitants in the city, where the local press group reports that communications have been disrupted under a information blockade.
Much of what is understood about the atrocities has come to light from video footage – a significant portion of it recorded by the RSF themselves – geolocated by journalists and experts; testimony from those who escaped who fled to the nearby town of Tawila; and, crucially, satellite image review conducted by the research team.
Footage have emerged showing “many of civilians being shot or deceased, surrounded by RSF fighters”, according to the international body. Additionally, video circulated by pro-democracy activists seemed to display bodies scattered on the area with destroyed vehicles.
In a document released on the weekday, the research group stated the city “appears to be in a systematic and intentional process of targeted violence of specific local communities through forced displacement and summary execution”. Experts also identified what seemed to be “house-by-house searches” across the urban area, where militants went from building to building performing a range of acts of violence.
The Yale team said satellite images also showed large “groups” matching remains and staining on the ground.
The Paramilitary Group and Background of Sudan’s Civil War?
The Rapid Support Forces was established in 2013 from the remnants of the Janjaweed militia, deputed by Sudan’s former authoritarian leader the ex-president to suppress a tribal rebellion in the area. That campaign concluded with the genocide of up to 300,000 people.
A internal conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army began in April 2023 after a power struggle between the sides, and the war quickly spread across the country.
Both sides have been charged of a litany of human rights violations and atrocities against non-combatants. The US, UN and additional entities have also determined that the paramilitary has performed mass murder and mass rape against specific and non-Arab groups in the region.
In August that period, famine was declared in the Zamzam camp for displaced people, to the south of the city. In the spring, the RSF killed as many as 2,000 individuals when it took over the site, which at the time housed a large number of people.
What Role Is the Global Actors Playing?
The international community appeared to be directing attention on Sudan recently when a meeting held in the city assembled 17 countries, as well as the EU and regional body, to address the conflict. It was accompanied by several new commitments of aid, and was billed as an effort to establish a fresh consensus on a way forward. But there was widespread criticism that several of the countries at the gathering were allegedly engaged with the conflict, most notably the United Arab Emirates.
The authorities has alleged the UAE of providing weapons to the paramilitary, which the UAE officials have rejected. In April, a leaked document found “multiple” air travel from the UAE, as aircraft made apparently deliberate efforts to avoid detection as they flew into bases in the neighboring country, where weapons trafficking across the border into the region has been monitored.
The UAE’s relationship with the paramilitary can be linked to the 2015 conflict, where the group was used to enlist fighters who were dispatched to Yemen to fight for the Saudi and UAE forces. The nation's interest in the country is also due to its mineral resources, the majority which has ended up in the Gulf state in recent years.
