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A nurse named Nawal Khalil had been volunteering as a medical volunteer for the past three years in the El Fasher South medical facility after the city fell taken over on Sunday by RSF paramilitaries. She was occupied with patient care, among them an older female patient who needed a blood transfusion, as the assault commenced.

“They murdered six wounded military personnel and civilians in their beds – including some women,” she recounts. “I don’t know what happened for my remaining patients. I was forced to flee as they invaded the hospital.”

Khalil, aged 27, was hit by a bullet in her right foot and upper leg as RSF fighters took control of the nearby military headquarters. She escaped from the city and walked for a day, injured and without food, to reach the town of Garney. “On the way, they took my phone and money,” she describes. “I possessed nothing remaining.”

In excess of 1,000 persons – including women and children – journeyed by walking for 48 hours to reach the town of Tawila within North Darfur after running from El Fasher, which was captured after an 18-month siege.

Tawila, approximately 34 miles westward from El Fasher, is under the control of the Sudan Liberation Army faction under Abdul Wahid Mohamed al-Nur's leadership.

This past Tuesday, the allied Joint Forces – who are allied with Sudan’s army – charged the RSF for slaughtering in excess of 2,000 non-combatants after the city's capture. The UN reported that footage existed showing “dozens of unarmed men who were shot or found dead, encircled by RSF combatants.”

Contextual Information

Fighting broke out in Sudan's capital during April of 2023 as an escalating power struggle between the two main factions of the armed forces leadership eventually resulted in fatalities.

From one perspective are the Sudanese armed forces, which maintain general loyalty to Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the nation's actual leader. Challenging him exist the irregular troops of the RSF paramilitary group, a gathering of armed factions that obey the former warlord General Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

The RSF was originally established by the former dictatorial ruler Omar al-Bashir as an Arab anti-rebellion militia known as the Janjaweed, that rapidly became associated with massive human rights violations. In 2013, Bashir reformed the faction to become the RSF, using them to quell a new uprising within South Darfur.

The conflict has plunged Sudan into among the most severe humanitarian crises in recent history”, based on UN statements. It has created the world’s worst displacement crisis, dispersing over 10 million individuals internally plus 4 million who escaped to bordering states, putting mounting pressure on both Chad and South Sudan.

Present Circumstances

Based on eyewitness accounts, numerous more non-combatants stay confined by RSF forces and associated armed groups in Garney, southwest from El Fasher. Numerous are ex-military personnel from the Sudanese army, the allied Joint Forces plus additional armed factions that were previously aligned with the military. Reports indicate they're imprisoned as they lack funds for ransom demands of between 5m and 10m Sudanese pounds (approximately £6,000-£12,000), per those who escaped who reached Tawila. Individuals incapable of paying remain imprisoned for several days, and in some cases freed only when becoming gravely ill.

Reports suggest the SLA-AW has authorized government troops fleeing El Fasher to enter Tawila if they relinquish their arms.

Adam Yagoub, 28, a chauffeur from Sennar from central Sudanese regions, closely avoided death following his capture by three militiamen on camels near Garney.

“They intended to behead me with a blade,” he informs, displaying his arm, which one of the fighters hit using an AK-47 rifle butt. “Then one of them recognised me – his sibling had collaborated with me – and urged them not to execute me. We were 18 people who exited El Fasher as a group, yet merely eight reached Tawila. I assume the others died.”

Yagoub says he saw 22 bodies near what he called a deceptive well utilized by RSF forces and allied militias along the Garney-Tawila route. “This is an ambush,” he explains. “Persons journey daily without hydration, and when they get to it, the militias are waiting. They killed 22 men there and took the bodies away to hide them.”

Another nurse who fled the El Fasher South medical facility subsequent to Sunday's offensive said RSF fighters entered using one doorway and began shooting at patients in the ER section, killing at least eight. “We ran out via another entrance, but they hit me on the head with a firearm,” he recounts.

Via a recorded message on Wednesday, the leader of the RSF, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, referred to as Hemedti, stated that any military personnel or officer who had “violated the right of any person” would be held accountable.

Many of those who escaped El Fasher utilized hours concealing themselves near military artillery before fleeing west under cover of darkness. Already displaced families from Abu Shouk camp in the city had to displace once more, finding shelter in Daraja Oula area before eventually heading for Tawila.

Those captured by the RSF in Garney were reportedly given {water mixed with flour|flour