Displaced residents of Sudan are gathering and resting in temporary tents after fleeing Al-Fashir city in Darfur, on October 29, 2025, in Tawila, Sudan, according to Reuters.
– Witness recounts reports of summary executions near a reservoir.
– The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) deny involvement in any summary killings.
– The fall of Al-Fashir deepens the divide within Sudan.
Over the weekend, camels were used to herd hundreds of men to a reservoir near Al-Fashir, where they were subjected to racial slurs before gunfire erupted, a man claiming to be present reported. Alkheir Ismail recognized one of the captors from school days, who then allowed him to escape. He shared his account via a video interview with a local journalist from Tawila.
“Someone told them, ‘Don’t kill him,’” Ismail recounted. “Even after they shot my friends and the others.”
He explained he was bringing food to relatives still inside the city when it was captured by RSF forces on Sunday and was unarmed. Reuters has not independently confirmed his story. Ismail is one of four witnesses and six aid workers who told Reuters that fleeing individuals from Al-Fashir had been gathered and separated by gender, with some men taken away. Gunfire incidents have also been reported earlier by witnesses.
Long-standing concerns from activists and analysts warn that the RSF may commit revenge killings based on ethnicity if they seize control of Al-Fashir, Darfur’s last stronghold of the Sudanese military. The UN Human Rights Office estimates that hundreds of civilians and unarmed fighters may have been executed, actions considered war crimes. While the RSF has denied such abuses, alleging they are fabricated by enemies, they confirm ongoing investigations and have made arrests.
The RSF claims that certain men were detained for interrogation, not execution, and states it has been aiding civilians and has called on humanitarian organizations to help those remaining in the city. Several visuals have emerged on social media showing RSF fighters shooting unarmed captives and clusters of bodies after an incident.
A top RSF commander labeled reports of atrocities as propaganda by the army and its allies to cover their defeat and loss of Al-Fashir. The RSF leadership has ordered investigations into misconduct, with some arrests made, and has helped facilitate the departure of civilians from the city. The forces also claim to have taken some soldiers and fighters into custody for questioning, denying allegations of killing.
Several eyewitnesses have described harrowing experiences attempting to escape. Medecins Sans Frontieres reports that around 500 civilians and soldiers from the armed forces, along with allied groups, attempted to flee on October 26 but most were either killed or captured. Survivors recount being separated by gender, age, or ethnicity, with many held for ransom—ransoms reaching up to 30 million Sudanese pounds ($50,000).
The RSF’s seizure of Al-Fashir consolidates the territorial divisions of a country already reconfigured by South Sudan’s independence in 2011, following decades of conflict. In a speech, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo urged his fighters to protect civilians and promised to hold violators accountable, while also acknowledging reports of detentions with orders for their release.
Expert Alex de Waal observed that RSF behavior in Al-Fashir closely mirrors their actions in Geneina and elsewhere earlier in the conflict, indicating a pattern of conduct in Darfur’s ongoing turmoil.
In Tawila, NGO protection adviser Mary Brace reports that displaced individuals are primarily women, children, and elderly men, often transported by RSF-organized trucks from Garney. The RSF has posted videos claiming to show aid being provided in Garney, possibly as a tactic to attract international assistance and retain control over towns.
While approximately 260,000 people were in Al-Fashir at the time of the attack, only around 62,000 are currently accounted for elsewhere, mainly in Tawila, which is under neutral control. Additional testimonies include that of Tahani Hassan, a former hospital cleaner, who fled following her relatives’ death and was assaulted during her escape. She reports being beaten, searched, and having her belongings spilled, with her family separated and most presumed dead due to the treatment they endured.
