Sudan’s brutal civil war – what has happened in El Fasher?

Satellite image of the children's hospital in El Fasher. Much of what is known about the atrocities has come from satellite image analysis. Photograph: Satellite image ©2025 Vantor/AFP/Getty Images

Another devastating chapter in Sudan’s brutal civil war has taken place as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces captured El Fasher from the army after an 18-month siege that trapped tens of thousands of civilians in the city in Darfur. The RSF now controls all major urban centres in Darfur, a development that raises the possibility the country could face partition.