For the residents of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, the sound of artillery has become an inescapable backdrop to daily life. The city, once a bustling hub in western Sudan, now stands as the last major stronghold of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Darfur, besieged for 17 months by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). As the conflict intensifies, stories of suffering, survival, and shifting military fortunes reveal the deepening crisis that has engulfed Sudan since April 2023.
On October 2, 2025, the SAF announced a significant development: a special operation by its 6th Infantry Division and allied units had killed a “large number” of foreign mercenaries, including Ukrainians and Colombians, in North Darfur. According to the SAF statement, these mercenaries—some described as engineers specializing in drones and electronic systems—were supporting RSF forces stationed in the besieged city of El Fasher. The army claimed to have inflicted “heavy losses in lives and equipment” on RSF fighters attempting to infiltrate the city’s neighborhoods (RT).
While the SAF’s announcement focused on battlefield achievements, the human toll of the ongoing siege is painfully evident. Reporting from inside El Fasher, the BBC documented the harrowing experiences of civilians trapped by the fighting. Thirteen-year-old Ahmed Abdul Rahman, wounded by shrapnel during a recent shelling, lies on a blanket in a makeshift camp. “I feel pain in my head and my legs,” he said weakly. His mother, Islam Abdullah, revealed, “His whole body is full of shrapnel. His condition is unstable.” With hospitals under fire and running out of supplies, Ahmed and countless others face a grim struggle for survival.
Hamida Adam Ali, another resident, was left immobile after her leg was shattered by shellfire. She spent five days lying on the road before being rescued and brought to a camp for displaced people. “My children have been crying for days because there is no food,” she told the BBC. “Sometimes they find something to eat and sometimes they go to bed without food. My leg is rotting—it smells foul now. I am just lying down. I have nothing.”
The siege’s impact on civilians is compounded by the scarcity of reliable information, as both sides wage a fierce media war. In recent weeks, the RSF has released footage showing its fighters inside what has been identified as the headquarters of the military’s armoured corps. Meanwhile, the army’s Sixth Infantry Division and allied Joint Forces continue to defend remaining bases, with reports of supply airdrops providing some relief to embattled soldiers (BBC).
The RSF’s relentless advance has been fueled by increasingly deadly and sophisticated drones, reportedly supplied by the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—a charge the UAE denies, despite mounting evidence from war monitors and UN experts. Verified footage shows these drones targeting not only military sites but also civilian areas, including informal markets. The consequences have been devastating: last month, a strike on a mosque during morning prayers killed more than 75 people. The RSF was blamed for the attack, though it did not publicly accept responsibility. Rescuers struggled to find enough funeral shrouds for the dead, and mass graves became a grim necessity (BBC).
For those who survive, the trauma is relentless. Samah Abdullah Hussein recounted burying her young son Samir in a mass grave after he was killed by shelling in a schoolyard where the family had sought refuge. “He was hit in the head and the wound was deep, his brain came out,” she said, her voice breaking. “My other son was hit in the head by shrapnel and in his arm, and I was hit in my right leg.”
The scale of displacement is staggering. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that nearly 12 million people—almost a quarter of Sudan’s 50.5 million population—have been forcibly uprooted from their homes. Hundreds of thousands have fled El Fasher alone in the past year, braving attacks, robbery, and killings during their escape. For those left behind, hunger and fear are constant companions. According to the UN, half the country’s population now faces acute food insecurity.
The origins of Sudan’s current crisis stretch back to 2019, when a popular uprising toppled longtime president Omar al-Bashir. Hopes for a democratic transition were soon dashed by successive military coups. In 2021, SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized control, interrupting the fragile progress toward civilian rule. The situation deteriorated further in April 2023, when Burhan’s former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), launched attacks on SAF positions. The ensuing struggle for power has plunged the nation into chaos.
Foreign involvement has added new layers of complexity. Earlier this year, a Sudanese Foreign Ministry official alleged that Ukraine was supplying weapons and ammunition to the RSF, and that Ukrainian mercenaries were fighting alongside the paramilitaries. The same official accused Ukraine of “doing all the dirty work” on behalf of the West, citing joint complaints by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger about Kiev’s alleged support for armed groups in the Sahel region (RT).
The RSF’s potential capture of El Fasher would mark a turning point in the conflict. Sudanese analyst Kholood Khair explained to the BBC that control of the city would give the RSF strategic advantages, including easier access to fuel and weapons from southern Libya and secure transit routes across the western border, stretching from South Sudan to parts of Egypt. “From El Fasher, the RSF would be able to launch attacks into both the Kordofan regions and into the capital [Khartoum] again. And so, it would really position the RSF much more strongly militarily,” Khair said.
For the Joint Forces allied with the SAF, the battle for El Fasher is existential. “For the Joint Forces, this is a fight for their homelands,” Khair noted. “If they lose Darfur, they effectively no longer have a claim to any part of Darfur… It’s a fight for their political survival.”
Amid the violence, the RSF has sought to project a softer image, releasing videos of its fighters greeting and helping displaced civilians. Yet, as the BBC reports, these efforts ring hollow for many refugees, who recognize friends and relatives among those stopped by the RSF. “I see every day, people whom I know die, places that I used to go to destroyed. My memories died, not just the people that I know. It’s like a nightmare,” one refugee shared.
With the UN warning of possible atrocities if the RSF overruns El Fasher, the world watches anxiously. For now, the city’s residents can only wait—and hope for survival in a conflict that has already robbed so many of their loved ones, homes, and futures.
