After 18 months of surviving forced starvation and shelling by the paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the regional capital and symbolic battleground of Al Fashir is on the verge of full 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 intensified ground battles.
In propaganda videos shared on RSF social media channels, troops waved their assault rifles in the yard of the garrison and celebrated victory in front of a bullet-ridden wall marked with an emblem of the Sudanese military.
They claim to have taken over the city and completed their military control of the Darfur region.
Sudanese army soldiers, civilian resistance fighters and first responders have denounced the RSF’s declaration of full victory and say battles are ongoing to fend off the city’s capture.
A wedge of military-held territory remains on the western edge of Al Fashir where remaining civilians are squeezed in with troops fighting to push outwards and regain key sites lost to the RSF.
“I left because all the residents and forces have been intensely concentrated in Al-Daraja Owla neighbourhood. It was too much and people started fleeing,” said aid worker and resident Adam al Rashid, who left Al Fashir on Saturday.
“The RSF was moving people out and attacking others. So many have been killed by gunfire and shelling from battles. It was clear this was coming. The RSF has been advancing on the 6th infantry division for three days.”
Around 5,000 people have fled Al Fashir since 23 October, according to initial assessments by the International Organisation 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 left in long, sombre queues as RSF soldiers yelled at them from inside their trucks.
Other videos show men of fighting age rounded up and kneeling on the ground as RSF troops yell at them, “You are all army”.
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Sources tell Sky News that those fleeing are facing mass arrests and extra-judicial killings on their way out.
There is currently a telecommunications blackout in Al Fashir. An ominous sign that has marked previous takeovers by the paramilitary group, including the city of Al Geneina where the United Nations (UN) accused the RSF of killing 10,000 to 15,000 people.
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“I am very concerned about the life of my relatives, the journalists and the doctors inside the city of Al Fashir. All of us saw what happened in Al Geneina and we are scared that will happen in Al Fashir too,” said Mohamed Zakarea, a journalist from Al Fashir who fled the city a year ago after five months of the RSF siege.
“The people are waiting for the Sudanese army – for the war planes and the air drops. If all of this doesn’t happen, then I’m afraid to say that Al Fashir is falling.”
