Sudan’s brutal civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has entered its third year, as the involvement of rebel groups and persistent violence continue to destabilize the region, exacerbating what the United Nations calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
In a recent escalation of violence, Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a deadly assault on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, resulting in over 30 civilian deaths and numerous injuries. The attack, which began on Sunday and continued into Monday, involved shelling of residential and market areas, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis in the region.
El Fasher, currently under military control, has become a refuge for more than a million people displaced by ongoing conflicts. This latest offensive is part of the RSF’s year-long campaign to seize control of the city and the broader Darfur region amid Sudan’s protracted civil war.
The situation in #Sudan 🇸🇩 after two years of war:
Today marks the second anniversary of the start of the war in Sudan, and after two years of fighting the frontlines are anything but frozen. in recent weeks:
-SAF captured Khartoum, Bahri and is in the process of clearing… pic.twitter.com/DZ9dChYX83
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) April 15, 2025
The RSF, which evolved from the Janjaweed militias notorious for atrocities under former President Omar al-Bashir, has intensified its aggression in Darfur following setbacks in other parts of Sudan. The civil war, ongoing since April 2023, has reportedly claimed over 24,000 lives, though the actual toll may be significantly higher.
This attack follows a prior RSF assault less than a week earlier on the Zamzam displacement camp, which killed over 400 people and displaced approximately 400,000. The RSF’s actions have been widely condemned by humanitarian organizations, with reports of deliberate attacks on vulnerable civilians already facing famine.
The international community has expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in Darfur. Human Rights Watch has accused the RSF and allied militias of committing crimes against humanity and genocide, particularly targeting non-Arab ethnic groups in the region. The United Nations has warned of possible imminent attacks on cities in North Darfur, emphasizing the urgent need for international intervention.
As the conflict continues to escalate, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan worsens, with nearly half of the country’s 51 million population facing food insecurity and famine declared in parts of Darfur. The international response has been minimal, overshadowed by other global crises, leaving millions of Sudanese civilians in desperate need of assistance.
The RSF’s recent actions in El Fasher and Zamzam camp highlight the urgent need for a concerted international effort to address the escalating violence and humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Famine gripped Sudan as it entered a third year of civil war. More than 24 million people face acute hunger in what the UN says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. pic.twitter.com/pGHP1No3O4
— DW News (@dwnews) April 22, 2025