One year after Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, fewer than 70,000 people remain in the city, down from a pre-war population exceeding one million, according to Amnesty International. In findings published on October 23, 2026, the human rights organisation reported widespread unlawful killings, arbitrary detention, torture and surveillance, describing an atmosphere in which “everybody is terrorised.” The RSF has been accused of committing atrocities against civilians during its campaign to seize the city.

Amnesty based its latest findings on interviews conducted in August and September with 25 civilians, including 19 residents and six humanitarian workers. Seventeen of the residents interviewed had been detained by the RSF, with many describing months of captivity, beatings, executions and severe shortages of food and water. Survivors said detainees were sometimes released only after their families paid ransoms or they managed to escape. A 29-year-old Zaghawa man identified by the pseudonym Modathir described torture and killings inside Shala prison.

Women, children and elderly or injured people were reportedly held in schools converted into detention centres, where detainees faced malnutrition and limited access to medical care. Survivors also described ethnic abuse, particularly against members of the Zaghawa and Masalit communities, while some detainees were allegedly forced to collect bodies and rubble or perform unpaid domestic work for RSF personnel. Amnesty said satellite imagery showed reduced activity at several school detention sites by September, although other detention facilities continued to show signs of activity.

Humanitarian access remains restricted, with aid workers and residents reportedly monitored by RSF personnel. Civilians said surveillance prevented them from speaking freely with humanitarian organisations, while aid workers warned of continuing malnutrition risks, particularly among children. Amnesty said the RSF had not responded to a letter sent on October 9 outlining its findings. In July, the organisation published a separate investigation concluding that the RSF had committed crimes against humanity during its campaign to capture El Fasher, including persecution and forcible displacement, with certain ethnic groups specifically targeted.

Amnesty has called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of arbitrarily detained civilians, an end to torture and forced labour, and the urgent deployment of an international force to protect civilians. It also urged all countries to halt arms transfers to parties involved in the conflict, specifically calling on governments to stop supplying weapons to the United Arab Emirates until it ceases support for the RSF, and for the UN Security Council to extend the existing arms embargo beyond Darfur to all of Sudan. The war, which erupted in April 2023 between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces, continues to drive mass displacement and a severe humanitarian crisis.