Sudan's Army Withdraws From Dafur Stronghold Amid Reports of Atrocities

Sudan’s Army Withdraws from Darfur Stronghold, Amid Reports of Mass Atrocities Sudan The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have withdrawn from the city of el-Fasher, their last stronghold in Darfur, amid reports of mounting ethnically motivated mass killings by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), whose takeover marks a major turning point in Sudan’s 18-month civil war, raising fears that the country will split apart, Al Jazeera reported. Army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan announced late Monday that his troops had retreated “to spare civilians” after what he called the “systemic killing” by the RSF. The retreat followed days of intense fighting that left el-Fasher, a city of more than a quarter of a million people, under RSF control. Humanitarian groups reported the looting of hospitals, civilians detained or executed, and thousands fleeing toward nearby towns. Satellite analysis by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab indicated evidence consistent with large-scale killings by RSF fighters following their capture of the city, the Guardian wrote. The United Nations Human Rights Office said it had received “multiple alarming reports” of summary executions of civilians, particularly those belonging to non-Arab communities. The Joint Forces – who are allied with the SAF – accused the RSF of executing more than 2,000 unarmed civilians over the weekend, a figure that could not be independently verified. The RSF – a paramilitary group that grew out of the Janjaweed militias accused of atrocities in Darfur two decades ago – said it had “liberated” the city from “mercenaries and militias.” African Union Commission chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf condemned the “atrocities” and urged an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian access, Agence France-Presse added. The army’s retreat marks a turning point in the conflict between the military and RSF that began in April 2023 following a power struggle between Burhan and RSF commander, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The war has since killed more than 150,000 people, displaced nearly 12 million, and plunged parts of Sudan into famine. Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes and other atrocities – allegations both sides have rejected. Observers noted that the army’s withdrawal leaves the RSF in control of all five state capitals of the Darfur region, effectively excluding the SAF from a third of Sudanese territory and cementing the paramilitary group’s parallel administration in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. With Darfur now effectively under RSF rule and the army confined to the north, east, and center of the country, analysts and officials cautioned that the situation has revived fears of a national breakup reminiscent of South Sudan’s secession in 2011. That split followed decades of civil war and left Sudan permanently weakened, both politically and economically.