Alarming Escalation in Al-Fashir Threatens Fragile Ceasefire – 1.6 Million at Risk

Attacks near the Sudanese city of Al-Fashir have disrupted a ceasefire that shielded it from ongoing conflict, raising concerns of a fresh wave of inter-communal violence and humanitarian perils for 1.6 million residents packed into the North Darfur capital.

Al-Fashir stands as the final major city in the expansive, western Darfur region beyond the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Last year, RSF and its cohorts seized four other Darfur state capitals, with the paramilitary faction accused of orchestrating ethnically motivated killings against non-Arab communities and other atrocities in West Darfur.

The struggle for Al-Fashir, a historical seat of authority, may become prolonged and stoke ethnic tensions that emerged in the early 2000s. The city’s populace encompasses an estimated half a million individuals displaced during Sudan’s prior conflicts, when the army, aided by Arab militias that later transformed into the RSF, quelled an uprising by non-Arab rebel factions.

Around 500,000 more individuals sought refuge in Al-Fashir during confrontations between the army, referred to as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the RSF in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, in April 2023.

Numerous non-Arab residents in Al-Fashir are engulfed by fear, as peril lurks within the city, yet departing poses even greater risks. Local activists and a spokesperson from the SLA attribute blame to the RSF and their allied militias, who have a history of employing arson in previous assaults, including in West Darfur.