Description: The Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries have announced they have seized the city of El Fasher and expelled the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) from their last strategic stronghold in the Darfur region. Intense fighting led to the RSF’s capture of the SAF’s 6th Division Headquarters military base in the city with the SAF reportedly falling back to the outskirts of the city towards more fortified positions. The Popular Resistance militia, pro – army group, announced that the RSF was spreading disinformation in an attempt to further demoralize the civilian population in the city and denounced the RSF’s announcement that the paramilitary group had full control of the city. The latest development arrives after five days of intense aerial campaign by the RSF on the country’s capital, Khartoum, where drone attacks have inflicted large number of civilian casualties and infrastructural damage. The city of El Fasher had been under an 18 – month siege campaign where the RSF had built earthen walls on the periphery of the city and disabled the entry of humanitarian aid.
Impact: The capture of the city of El Fasher by the RSF represents a significant breakthrough in the war and enforces the argument for Sudan’s further territorial partition in light of the stalled peace negotiations. With El Fasher under its control, the RSF would control all five major cities in the Darfur region and effectively establish complete control of the southwestern part of the country. The five – day drone campaign and the lack of retaliative attacks from the SAF indicates that the RSF holds the tactical and strategic superiority in the war currently as well as advancing their territorial gains and operational control. No developments have been reported on the diplomatic front, with the international community focused on other larger conflicts such as the war in Gaza and Ukraine, which signals further deteriorating conditions in Sudan ranging from humanitarian disasters to war crimes and other atrocities. With the capture of El Fasher, the RSF continues to legitimize the group’s parallel government and further solidifies the argument for territorial partition of the country. The SAF still controls larger parts of the country, however, its lack of military response and shortcomings in the defense of crucial strategic locations such as Khartoum further weaken the army’s grip on power.