Why the Fall of a Sudanese City Matters So Much

Sudan's brutal two-year war has entered a new, dangerous phase. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces this week seized control of the entire Darfur region, after ousting the rival Sudanese army from its last stronghold there. The fighting for control of Sudan has killed more than 40,000 people and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 14 million displaced. The capture of El Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur, by the powerful Arab-led force raises fears that Africa's third-largest nation may split again, nearly 15 years after the oil-rich South Sudan gained independence following years of civil war. Key things to know, per the AP:

• Inside the RSF: The RSF was formed in 2013, growing out of the Janjaweed militia that fought in Darfur since the early 2000s in a ruthless campaign against the region's non-Arab tribes and rebels. Some 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million driven from their homes, and Sudan's former President Omar al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and genocide in Darfur in 2009. The RSF was founded initially as an attempt to instill discipline among Arab militias that were accused of ethnically motivated violence, abuse, and rape.
• Its leader: The RSF is helmed by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, a native of Darfur who hails from an Arab camel-trading tribe. He was handpicked by al-Bashir to lead the RSF on a series of counterinsurgency campaigns against the largely non-Arab rebels in Darfur and other restive provinces. Dagalo drew on his family's vast livestock and gold mining operations in Darfur to expand his support among local Arab militias. At the time, he commanded an estimated 10,000 fighters.
• Its recent past: Since the overthrow of al-Bashir in 2019, Dagalo emerged as the country's main power broker, playing key roles in a brief transitional government and a subsequent military coup that led to a power struggle that still pits him against the country's army chief, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan. The former Biden administration accused the RSF of genocide and imposed sanctions on Dagalo, his family, and associated businesses.

• What changed in 2025: The RSF fought the Sudanese army in Khartoum and controlled the capital for two years, before retreating early this year after a devastating battle that left it in ruins. It regrouped in Darfur and made new local alliances that strengthened its hold over parts of the neighboring Kordofan region. This year, the RSF was once again able to carry out attacks, including drone strikes, on Khartoum and eastern Sudan, where the army commander is based.
• What's next: Dagalo is estimated to command a force of more than 100,000 fighters. Their incorporation into Sudan's armed forces is believed to be among the main triggers of the power struggle between him and Burhan. As Sudan marked two years of its latest war, Dagalo once again made a claim for legitimacy, announcing that he's forming a rival government to rule parts of Sudan that the RSF controls.
• On the ground in El Fasher: The Washington Post reports it had been under siege for 18 months, persisting as the one holdout part of the western Darfur region that the RSF didn't control. Once home to more than a million people, "by this weekend only 250,000 starving civilians remained," per the Post. And once the RSF took hold, it went on a "killing rampage."
• On the ground in El Fasher II: The Telegraph reports that the Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab has used open-source images and satellite imagery to track what was happening in El Fasher and detected objects "consistent with the size of human bodies" and "reddish ground discoloration" that could be blood or disturbed soil.
• Human Rights Watch weighs in: The images "reveal a horrifying truth: The Rapid Support Forces feel free to carry out mass atrocities with little fear of consequences. The world needs to act to protect civilians from more heinous crimes," it wrote Monday on X.