Source: The Washington Post
DST News:For more than a year, the world has been aware of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in El Fasher, once a bustling city of over a million people and the Sudanese army’s last major stronghold in Darfur. Since the outbreak of civil war in 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the city had endured an 18-month siege marked by mass killings, starvation, and systematic atrocities. RSF fighters encircled the city with sand barriers, cutting off all humanitarian aid. Famine spread among the trapped population, who survived on animal feed and scraps while international appeals for relief went largely unanswered.
In recent days, the situation has taken a devastating turn. RSF units finally broke through and seized El Fasher, triggering chaos and mass flight among starving civilians. Reports indicate that RSF militias — mostly of Arab descent — have embarked on a campaign of targeted killings, rapes, and executions against non-Arab communities. Observers say the violence mirrors the genocidal massacres carried out two decades ago by the Janjaweed militia, the RSF’s predecessor. The U.S. government had earlier declared the group’s actions elsewhere in Darfur as acts of genocide.
RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, has promised to investigate alleged abuses, but few believe him. Many view him as the man most responsible for Sudan’s mounting bloodshed. “Women and girls are being raped, people mutilated and killed with impunity,” said U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, describing the “darker hell” El Fasher has descended into.
Amid this horror, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has been largely disengaged. Despite calling himself the “world’s greatest peacemaker,” Trump has shown little interest in confronting one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. His government has instead focused on slashing aid budgets and accelerating deportations of migrants to South Sudan — itself unstable and on the brink of renewed conflict.
Analysts say both warring sides in Sudan are backed by foreign powers. The Sudanese army receives support from Egypt and Iran, while the RSF has been propped up by weapon shipments from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). U.N. documents and intelligence reports suggest the UAE supplied the RSF with British-made small arms and Chinese drones, despite its denials. Experts believe that without Emirati support, the RSF’s war machine would collapse.
Members of the U.S. Congress have begun urging stronger action. Senator James Risch called for the RSF to be designated a terrorist organization, while Senator Jeanne Shaheen condemned the UAE for worsening the conflict. Yet Washington remains hesitant to pressure its Gulf ally.
As the war drags on — claiming over 150,000 lives and displacing millions — Sudan’s suffering deepens. U.N. officials describe it as a “failure of protection” and a moral collapse of the international community. “Atrocities are being committed with shameless impunity,” Fletcher said. “The world has failed an entire generation.”
