Sudan’s escalating civil war took a grim turn as military chief General Abdel-Fattah Burhan visited a displacement camp on Saturday, meeting civilians who fled El-Fasher after its capture by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Burhan, surrounded by heavy military security, was greeted by displaced residents during the visit. Tens of thousands have fled to overcrowded camps to escape what aid agencies describe as “reported atrocities” committed by the RSF since it seized control of the city in western Darfur.
The United Nations human rights chief has warned that many others remain trapped amid ongoing violence.
The RSF and the Sudanese army have been locked in a brutal conflict since April 2023, following a power struggle for control of Africa’s third-largest nation. At least 40,000 people have been killed, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), though the actual figure is believed to be far higher.
Some 12 million people have been displaced, and nearly half the population now faces acute food insecurity.
Last week, the RSF took El-Fasher after an 18-month siege. The paramilitary force allegedly rampaged through the city’s Saudi Hospital, killing over 450 people, according to the WHO, and went door to door, killing civilians and committing sexual assaults.
The RSF has denied any killings at the hospital, but eyewitness accounts, online videos, and satellite imagery reveal what observers have called an “apocalyptic” scene of devastation.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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