El-Fasher region in North Darfur has seen dramatic shifts in positional control: regular armed forces announced their withdrawal, leaving Rapid Support Forces (RSF) effectively in charge of this region; this caused UN to issue urgent warnings of suspected large scale atrocities by this regime. Al Jazeera +2 RFI +2 reported these developments earlier today.
On 27 October 2025, Sudanese Army General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan acknowledged pulling out from El-Fasher – its last major stronghold in Darfur region – under mounting pressure from RSF attacks. Al Jazeera provided this coverage.
Al-Burhan explained the decision as being taken in an effort to mitigate further destruction and civilian casualties, characterizing the city’s situation as one involving “systemic killing of civilians”.
Analysts note this marks a crucial moment in the war between the army and RSF that began officially in April 2023 and has devastated Darfur and other parts of Sudan since. With the army’s departure, RSF appears poised to link its supply routes from western Sudan through Libya and consolidate control over large swathes of Darfur. For more on this story visit Al Jazeera +1.
Humanitarian and Rights Disaster

UN and rights groups have raised serious concern over the situation inside El-Fasher. The UN Rights Office warned of “large-scale, ethnically motivated violations and atrocities” committed by RSF once military troops have left, according to Al Jazeera.
Aid-organisations describe an alarming environment: an estimated 260,000 civilians remain in Mosul, half of them children; many trapped amid siege-like conditions with reports of malnutrition, shelling of hospitals, looting, looters and detentions arbitrary detentions (AP News/ Al Jazeera).
One medical network described El-Fasher as being transformed into a “brutal killing field”, noting how RSF fighters have detained over one thousand civilians, targeted hospitals, and may be engaging in acts amounting to war crimes.
Al Jazeera offered its version.
Broader Implications
The army’s departure from El-Fasher underlines Darfur’s rapidly shifting balance of power, and raises concerns of an RSF-controlled zone in western Sudan that may impede peace talks, humanitarian access and cohesion across Sudan as a whole. Furthermore, its withdrawal has raised fears of further ethnic cleansing or mass displacement as the RSF consolidates their grip over El-Fasher. Al Jazeera reports.
International actors are also exerting pressure; the African Union condemned these events as war crimes and demanded an immediate cessation to violence, according to Ahram Online.
Humanitarian organizations warn that without immediate safe access and protections for civilians, civilian deaths and suffering will increase further.

What Will Happen Next? For El-Fasher and Darfur residents, the future looks uncertain. Without army protection, RSF control could deepen, which could increase displacement, looting, hunger and unchecked violence. Humanitarian organizations are working tirelessly to secure safe corridors while communications are limited and logistics in war-torn Darfur remain difficult.

For the wider conflict, this moment marks a turning point: Darfur falls under RSF control while other areas fall to military or other forces. How the national government and international actors respond will ultimately determine if this conflict freezes out or escalates into further ethnic and regional fragmentation.