Sudan Civil War: Personal Accounts Emerge from Besieged El Fasher and El Geneina
Amidst the escalating Sudan civil war, harrowing personal stories are surfacing from Darfur, particularly the besieged city of El Fasher. Civilians trapped in the crossfire are sharing accounts of immense suffering as the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensifies, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian crisis.
Life Under Siege in El Fasher
Hafiza’s Story: Grief and Resignation
“She had no parting words. She was already deceased upon being carried away,” Hafiza recounts somberly, describing her mother’s death in El Fasher, a city under relentless siege during Sudan’s ongoing civil war, which began two years prior.
The 21-year-old detailed how her family’s existence was irrevocably altered by this tragedy, using one of several phones provided by the BBC World Service to individuals confined by the conflict in El Fasher.
Constantly bombarded, El Fasher has been largely isolated from the external world for a year, preventing journalists direct access. For their protection, only first names are used for individuals who volunteered to document their lives and share their narratives via the BBC phones.
Hafiza explains how she was abruptly thrust into the role of caregiver for her five-year-old brother and two teenage sisters.
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Their father had passed away before the war commenced, a conflict that has ignited between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), precipitating the world’s most severe humanitarian emergency.
Voluntary Work Amidst Loss
Hafiza has dedicated herself to aiding displaced individuals in El Fasher through volunteer initiatives, including the distribution of essential supplies such as blankets and sustenance.
The warring factions, formerly allies who jointly assumed power in a coup, fractured due to disagreements over an internationally supported transition towards civilian governance.
El Fasher, Hafiza’s residence, remains the last major urban center in Darfur under military control and has endured RSF encirclement for the past year.
In August 2024, a shell struck the marketplace where her mother was trading household items.
“Grief is overwhelming; I still cannot bring myself to revisit her place of work,” Hafiza confesses in one of her initial video messages after receiving the phone, shortly after her mother’s passing.
“I spend my days weeping in solitude at home.”
Both factions involved in the conflict face accusations of war crimes and deliberately targeting civilian populations – allegations both sides refute. The RSF has previously denied accusations from the US and human rights organizations regarding genocide against non-Arab groups in Darfur regions they seized.
The RSF controls access in and out of El Fasher but occasionally permits civilians to leave. Hafiza arranged for her siblings to seek refuge with relatives in a safer area.
However, she remained to secure income to support them.
In her messages, she articulates her daily routine of distributing blankets and water to displaced persons in shelters, assisting at a community kitchen, and offering support to a breast cancer awareness group in exchange for minimal financial assistance to survive.
Her nights are spent in solitude.
“I am reminded of the places where my mother and siblings used to sit; I feel utterly broken,” she laments.
Mostafa’s Experience: Enduring Bombardment
In nearly every video message 32-year-old Mostafa transmitted, the sounds of artillery and gunfire are distinctly audible in the background.
“We are subjected to continuous artillery bombardment, incessantly, by the RSF,” he states.
Upon returning from a family visit, he discovered his home near the city center had been struck by shells – the roof and walls damaged – and looters had ransacked the remnants.
“Everything was completely overturned. Most residences in our neighborhood have been pillaged,” he reports, attributing the destruction to the RSF.
While volunteering at a displacement shelter, the vicinity came under intense assault. He continued filming as he sought cover, reacting to each detonation.
“There is no sanctuary in El Fasher,” he asserts. “Even refugee encampments are being shelled with artillery.”
“Death can befall anyone, at any moment, unexpectedly… from a bullet, shelling, starvation, or dehydration.”
Manahel’s Account: Famine and Loss
In another message, he details the scarcity of potable water, describing how individuals resort to consuming water from sources contaminated with sewage.
Both Mostafa and 26-year-old Manahel, also provided with BBC phones, volunteered at community kitchens sustained by donations from Sudanese expatriates.
The UN has cautioned of impending famine in the city, a reality already present at the nearby Zamzam camp, accommodating over 500,000 displaced individuals.
Numerous individuals cannot reach the market, “and those who manage to go encounter exorbitant prices,” Manahel elucidates.
“Every family now faces the same hardship – there is no distinction between rich and poor. People cannot afford basic necessities like sustenance.”
Community Kitchens: A Lifeline
After preparing meals such as rice and stew, they deliver the provisions to individuals in shelters. For many, this represents their only meal for the entire day.
When the war erupted, Manahel had recently graduated from university, where she studied Sharia and law.
As the fighting encroached upon El Fasher, she relocated with her mother and six siblings to a safer area, further from the battlefront.
“You forfeit your home, all your possessions, and find yourself in a new location with nothing,” she expresses.
However, her father declined to abandon their residence. Neighbors had entrusted him with their belongings, and he resolved to remain and safeguard them—a decision that ultimately cost him his life.
She recounts that he was killed by RSF artillery in September 2024.
El Geneina: Echoes of Ethnic Violence
Since the siege of El Fasher commenced a year prior, nearly 2,000 individuals have been killed or wounded, according to UN estimates.
Following sunset, residents seldom venture outside. The absence of electricity intensifies the fear during nighttime for many among El Fasher’s million inhabitants.
Individuals with solar power or batteries are hesitant to use lights, fearing “detection by drones,” Manahel explains.
There were periods when communication with her and others was lost for days due to internet unavailability.
Beyond these concerns, Manahel and Hafiza share a profound fear should the city succumb to the RSF.
“As a girl, I am afraid of being subjected to rape,” Hafiza conveys in one of her messages.
She, Manahel, and Mostafa are all from non-Arabic communities, their apprehension rooted in the events that transpired in other RSF-captured cities, notably El Geneina, approximately 250 miles (400km) west of El Fasher.
Concerns of Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
In 2023, El Geneina witnessed horrific massacres along ethnic lines, events the US and others have characterized as potential genocide. RSF fighters and affiliated Arab militias purportedly targeted individuals from non-Arab ethnic groups, such as the Massalit – allegations the RSF has consistently denied.
A Massalit woman encountered in a refugee camp across the Chadian border recounted being gang-raped by RSF fighters, rendering her unable to walk for almost two weeks, while the UN reported instances of girls as young as 14 suffering rape.
One man testified to witnessing a massacre perpetrated by RSF forces—he escaped after sustaining injuries and being left for dead.
The UN estimates that between 10,000 and 15,000 people perished in El Geneina alone in 2023. Currently, over a quarter of a million residents from the city—half its former population—are refugees in camps in Chad.
These accusations were presented to the RSF, but they offered no response. However, they have previously denied any involvement in ethnic cleansing in Darfur, claiming perpetrators donned RSF uniforms to falsely implicate them.
Access to El Geneina for reporters has been limited since then. However, after protracted negotiations with the city’s civilian authorities, a BBC team gained entry in December 2024.
El Geneina Under RSF Control: A Distorted Reality
Guided Tour and Limited Access
Assigned minders from the governor’s office restricted observations to pre-approved locations.
The RSF’s control was immediately evident. Armed fighters patrolled the streets in military vehicles. Brief interactions with some revealed their anti-vehicle rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher.
Their perspective on the conflict differed sharply. Their commander asserted that no civilians like Hafiza, Mostafa, and Manahel resided in El Fasher.
“Anyone remaining in a war zone is a combatant; there are no civilians, only army personnel,” he claimed.
He maintained El Geneina was now tranquil and that most residents – “around 90%” – had returned. “Previously vacant homes are now reoccupied.”
However, hundreds of thousands of the city’s inhabitants remain refugees in Chad, and numerous abandoned and ravaged neighborhoods were visible during the tour.
Controlled Narratives and Market Visit
Minders present hindered an accurate portrayal of life in El Geneina. A visit to a bustling vegetable market allowed interaction with residents regarding their lives.
Each question elicited glances towards the minder before responses indicated everything was “fine,” except for minor complaints about inflated prices.
Subsequently, the minder would often contradict these statements, suggesting price exaggerations.
The visit culminated in an interview with Tijani Karshoum, the governor of West Darfur, whose predecessor was assassinated in May 2023 after accusing the RSF of genocide.
This marked his first interview since 2023. He insisted on his neutral civilian status during the El Geneina unrest, claiming no affiliation with either side.
Governor’s Denials and EU Sanctions
“We have commenced a new chapter under the banner of peace, coexistence, moving beyond past resentments,” he stated, also dismissing the UN’s casualty figures as “inflated.”
A man, understood to be an RSF representative, was also present.
Karshoum’s responses to nearly all inquiries were remarkably consistent, whether concerning ethnic cleansing allegations or the fate of former governor Khamis Abakar.
Approximately two weeks post-interview, the European Union imposed sanctions on Karshoum, citing his “responsibility in the fatal attack” on his predecessor and his involvement in “planning, directing, or committing… serious human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, including killings, rape, other severe forms of sexual and gender-based violence, and abduction”.
In a follow-up, Karshoum responded, “Given my suspect status, any statement from me would lack credibility.”
However, he asserted he “was never part of the tribal conflict, remained at home during clashes,” and was uninvolved in humanitarian law violations.
“Accusations of killings, abductions, or rape require an independent investigation,” with which he would cooperate, Karshoum stated.
“From the conflict’s outset in Khartoum, we advocated for peace and proposed initiatives to prevent violence in our socially fragile state,” he added.
Desperate Escape and Uncertain Future
Given the stark contrast between the RSF-controlled narrative of El Geneina and the numerous refugee testimonials, the prospect of residents returning home seems remote.
The same applies to 12 million other Sudanese displaced internally or as refugees abroad.
Ultimately, Hafiza, Mostafa, and Manahel found life in El Fasher untenable and departed in November 2024 for nearby towns.
With the military regaining control of Khartoum in March, Darfur remains the primary region under RSF dominance, intensifying the conflict in El Fasher.
“El Fasher has become terrifying,” Manahel expressed while packing.
“We are leaving into the unknown. Will we ever return to El Fasher? When will this war conclude? We are uncertain of our fate.”