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A nurse named Nawal Khalil had been volunteering as a medical volunteer over a three-year period in the El Fasher South medical facility after the city fell seized last Sunday by RSF paramilitaries. She was occupied with patient care, including an elderly woman who needed a blood transfusion, when the attack began.

“Six injured soldiers were killed along with civilians in their beds – including some women,” she says. “I don’t know what happened to my other patients. I had to run as they invaded the hospital.”

Khalil, aged 27, was hit by a bullet in her right foot and upper leg while RSF combatants gained control of the nearby military headquarters. She ran from the urban area and journeyed by foot for 24 hours, wounded and without nourishment, to get to the settlement of Garney. “Along the route, they took my phone and currency,” she describes. “I possessed nothing remaining.”

More than 1,000 people – featuring females and minors – traveled on foot for two days to get to the settlement of Tawila within North Darfur after fleeing El Fasher, which was captured following an 18-month blockade.

This settlement, about 34 miles (55km) west of El Fasher, is governed by of the Sudan Liberation Army faction under Abdul Wahid Mohamed al-Nur's leadership.

On Tuesday, the allied Joint Forces – who are allied with Sudan’s army – accused the RSF of killing more than 2,000 civilians following the urban center's takeover. The UN reported that visual evidence showed featuring numerous unarmed males being shot or lying dead, surrounded by RSF fighters.”

Historical Background

Hostilities commenced in Sudan's capital on 15 April 2023 as a growing contest for power involving the two key groups of the armed forces leadership ultimately became violent.

Among the combatants are the Sudanese armed forces, who remain broadly loyal towards General al-Burhan, the de facto head of state. Opposing him are the paramilitaries of the RSF paramilitary group, a collection of militias who follow the former warlord General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, called Hemedti.

The RSF was initially founded by the ex-dictator Bashir's regime as an Arab anti-rebellion militia known as the Janjaweed, which quickly became synonymous with massive human rights violations. During 2013, Bashir transformed the group to become the RSF, sending them to suppress a recent insurrection in southern Darfur.

The fighting has thrown Sudan into a terrible humanitarian disaster in recent history”, based on UN statements. It has created the planet's biggest displacement catastrophe, forcing more than 10 million persons within the country along with 4 million refugees into neighbouring countries, creating increasing strain on both Chad and South Sudan.

Current Situation Updates

According to witnesses, numerous more non-combatants stay confined by RSF forces and partner militias in the Garney area, south-west of El Fasher. Many are former soldiers belonging to the Sudanese military, the Joint Forces plus additional armed factions that had been fighting alongside the army. They are reportedly being held as they lack funds for ransom demands of between 5m and 10m Sudanese pounds (approximately £6,000-£12,000), per those who escaped who arrived in Tawila. Those unable to pay remain imprisoned for several days, and sometimes freed only when falling seriously ill.

The SLA-AW has reportedly allowed army soldiers running from El Fasher to access Tawila if they relinquish their arms.

Adam Yagoub, aged 28, a driver from Sennar within central Sudan, narrowly escaped being killed subsequent to his seizure by three armed men mounted on camels in the Garney vicinity.

“They intended to behead me with a blade,” he tells, exhibiting his limb, which one militant assaulted using an AK-47 rifle butt. “Then one of them recognised me – his brother was my colleague – and pleaded with them to spare me. There were 18 of us who left El Fasher together, however just eight arrived in Tawila. I believe the remainder perished.”

Yagoub reports he witnessed 22 deceased individuals in proximity to what he termed a deceptive well utilized by RSF forces and allied militias along the Garney-Tawila route. “It’s a trap,” he explains. “People walk all day without water, and when they get to it, the militias are waiting. They killed 22 men there and removed the corpses to conceal them.”

Another nurse who fled the El Fasher South medical facility subsequent to Sunday's offensive reported RSF militiamen penetrated using one doorway and began shooting at patients within the emergency department, killing at least eight. “We fled through another gate, however they struck my head using a rifle,” he says.

Through a video declaration last Wednesday, the RSF commander, General Dagalo, called Hemedti, declared that any fighter or officer who had “violated the right of any person” would be held accountable.

Numerous individuals who fled from El Fasher passed hours taking cover close to army artillery positions before running west under cover of darkness. Previously displaced households from the city’s Abu Shouk camp were compelled to relocate again, finding shelter in Daraja Oula area before eventually heading for Tawila.

Those captured by the RSF in Garney were apparently provided {water mixed with flour|flour