After 18 months of surviving forced starvation and bombing by the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the regional capital and symbolic battlefield of Al Fashir is on the verge of total military collapse.
On Sunday, the RSF advanced into the heart of the city and captured the 6th Infantry Division of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in central Al Fashir after three days of intense ground fighting.
In propaganda videos shared on RSF’s social media channels, troops waved their assault rifles in the garrison yard and celebrated victory in front of a bullet-riddled wall marked with an emblem of the Sudanese military.
They claim to have taken the city and completed their military control of the Darfur region.
Propaganda videos showing RSF troops waving rifles in the air in Al Fashir
Sudanese army soldiers, civil resistance fighters and first responders have denounced the RSF’s declaration of complete victory and say battles continue to defend against the city’s capture.
At the western edge of Al Fashir there remains a wedge of military-controlled territory, where the remaining civilians are squeezed in with troops fighting to advance and retake key sites lost to the RSF.
A map showing the areas of Sudan controlled by the SAF and RSF forces.
“I left because all the residents and forces had gathered heavily in the Al-Daraja Owla neighborhood. There were too many of them and people started fleeing,” said aid worker and resident Adam al Rashid, who left Al Fashir on Saturday.
“The RSF were removing people and attacking others. Many have died from shooting and shelling in the battles. It was clear that this was going to happen. The RSF has been advancing towards the 6th Infantry Division for three days.”
Around 5,000 people have fled Al Fashir since October 23, according to initial assessments by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Videos shared on RSF channels show masses fleeing on foot; some filmed by an RSF surveillance drone scattered across a field and others abandoned in long, shadowy queues as RSF soldiers shouted at them from inside their trucks.
Other videos show men of fighting age cornered and kneeling on the ground as RSF troops shout at them: “You are all army.”
Smoke rises in Al Fashir, Sudan
Sources tell Sky News that those fleeing face mass arrests and extrajudicial killings upon leaving.
There is currently a telecommunications blackout in Al Fashir. An ominous sign that has marked previous takeovers by the paramilitary group, including the town of Al Geneina, where the United Nations (UN) accused the RSF of killing between 10,000 and 15,000 people.
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“I am very worried about the lives of my relatives, journalists and doctors inside the city of Al Fashir. We all saw what happened in Al Geneina and we are afraid that it will happen in Al Fashir too,” said Mohamed Zakarea, a journalist from Al Fashir who fled the city a year ago after a five-month RSF siege.
“People are waiting for the Sudanese army, warplanes and airdrops. If all this does not happen, then I fear Al Fashir is falling.”