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Nawal Khalil had been serving as a nurse over a three-year period within the South El Fasher hospital after the city fell taken over on Sunday by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). She was occupied with patient care, including an elderly woman who needed a blood transfusion, when the attack began.

“They murdered six wounded military personnel plus civilian patients in their beds – among them female victims,” she states. “The outcome remains unknown regarding my other patients. I had to run after they raided the medical facility.”

Khalil, 27, was hit by a bullet in her right foot and her thigh as RSF fighters took control of the closeby army headquarters. She fled the city and journeyed by foot for 24 hours, injured and without food, to reach the town of Garney. “During the journey, they took my phone and cash,” she describes. “I possessed nothing remaining.”

More than 1,000 people – featuring females and minors – walked for two days to reach the town of Tawila located in northern Darfur after fleeing El Fasher, which was captured following an 18-month blockade.

The town of Tawila, around 55 kilometers to the west from El Fasher, is governed by of the SLA-AW group commanded by Abdul Wahid Mohamed al-Nur.

Last Tuesday, the Joint Forces – that cooperate with the Sudanese army – charged the RSF with murdering over 2,000 civilians after the city's capture. United Nations officials stated there were videos depicting dozens of weaponless men being shot or lying dead, encircled by RSF combatants.”

Historical Background

Conflict erupted in Sudan's capital on 15 April 2023 when an intensifying power struggle between the two main factions of the armed forces leadership finally turned deadly.

Among the combatants stand the Sudanese military forces, who remain broadly loyal towards General al-Burhan, the nation's actual leader. Opposing him stand the paramilitary forces of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a collection of militias which support the ex-warlord General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, referred to as Hemedti.

The RSF was originally established by the previous authoritarian leader Omar al-Bashir himself as an Arab anti-rebellion militia known as the Janjaweed, that rapidly became associated with massive human rights violations. In 2013, Bashir converted the organization into the RSF, sending them to suppress a fresh rebellion within South Darfur.

The fighting has thrown Sudan into “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history”, as per UN representatives. It has produced the globe's most severe displacement emergency, scattering more than 10 million people inside the nation plus 4 million who escaped into neighbouring countries, creating increasing strain on both Chad and South Sudan.

Current Situation Updates

Per observer reports, numerous more non-combatants continue to be held by the RSF and associated armed groups in the Garney area, south-west of El Fasher. Numerous are ex-military personnel from the Sudanese army, the Joint Forces and other armed groups that had been fighting alongside the army. They are reportedly being held as they lack funds for ransom requests between five and ten million Sudanese pounds (approximately £6,000-£12,000), according to survivors who arrived in Tawila. Those unable to pay have been held for multiple days, and occasionally let go solely after becoming gravely ill.

The SLA-AW has apparently permitted army soldiers running from El Fasher to enter Tawila provided they give up their weapons.

Adam Yagoub, 28, a chauffeur from Sennar within central Sudan, narrowly escaped being killed subsequent to his seizure by three camel-riding militiamen near Garney.

“They intended to behead me with a knife,” he tells, exhibiting his limb, which one of the fighters hit with the stock of a Kalashnikov. “Subsequently one identified me – his brother was my colleague – and begged them not to kill me. We were 18 people who exited El Fasher as a group, but only eight made it to Tawila. I think the others are dead.”

Yagoub reports he witnessed 22 deceased individuals in proximity to what he termed a “fake well” utilized by RSF forces and partner armed groups along the Garney-Tawila route. “This is an ambush,” he explains. “Persons journey daily without hydration, and when they reach it, the militiamen await. They murdered 22 males at that location and removed the corpses to conceal them.”

Another nurse who fled the El Fasher South medical facility after the attack on Sunday reported RSF militiamen penetrated through one gate and opened fire on patients within the emergency department, causing at least eight fatalities. “We ran out via another entrance, however they struck my head using a rifle,” he states.

In a video statement on Wednesday, the head of the RSF, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, stated that any military personnel or commander who infringed upon the rights of any civilian would be punished.

Many of those who escaped from El Fasher passed hours hiding near the army’s artillery unit before running west during nighttime. Already displaced families from Abu Shouk camp in the city had to displace once more, seeking refuge in the Daraja Oula neighbourhood prior to ultimately traveling to Tawila.

Individuals seized by the RSF within Garney reportedly received {water mixed with flour|flour