Initially, the RSF attempted to capture El Fasher through direct ground assaults that were repulsed by the SAF and its allied forces. By mid-2025, the RSF shifted to a war of attrition, completely encircling the city and cutting off supply lines,561 while reportedly building an earthen wall around the city.562 The RSF included fighters from allied groups into its ranks563 and used foreign mercenaries564 operating drones to intensify bombardments.565 In April 2025, the RSF took control of Zamzam camp,566 after three days of fighting, fires, and ‘extreme violence’.567 Further attacks were reported in Abu Shouk camp568 and Um Kadada.569 On 26 October 2025, the RSF seized control of the capital El Fasher following a siege that had lasted 533 days.570 The RSF subsequently advanced westward, attacking Joint Forces-held areas controlled by predominantly Zaghawa army-aligned groups.571 In December 2025, following brief armed clashes, the RSF established near-complete control of Um Baru and Kornoy.572
Regarding the SAF and allied forces, in May 2025, the SAF reportedly gained control over Al-Atrun airbase.573 As of April 2026, Al-Tina area was reportedly controlled by Joint Forces and the SAF, but intermittent clashes and repeated RSF attacks continued,574 including in July 2026.575 There was growing concern that the conflict could develop into a tribal war amid rising ethnic tensions, as the area lies within the Zaghawa tribal sultanate.576 In late June 2026, Joint Forces reportedly recaptured the town of Abu Qamra after heavy fighting with the RSF.577
Allegations of abuses against Zaghawa civilians had been reported following the RSF’s capture of Abu Qamra in late 2025, after the Joint Forces’ withdrawal to Al-Tina.578 In July 2026, RSF troops reportedly carried out ethnically motivated attacks on six villages near Al-Tina, resulting in several civilians being killed and dozens injured.579
Clashes between herders and farmers occurred across Darfur from October to December 2025, during the harvest period, with Kutum, Kabkabiya, and Dar es Salaam among the particularly affected areas. Reportedly, four people were killed in an incident in Al-Sayyah area in December 2025.580
- 561
Insights SD, The Fall of Al-Fashir and the Beginning of a New Phase in Darfur, 11 November 2025, url
- 562
Al Jazeera, In besieged Sudan city, civilians face death if they try to escape, 4 September 2025, url
- 563
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Mapping the Armed Actors in the Sudan Conflict, 7 July 2026, url
- 564
HRW, From Bogotá to El Fasher, May 2026, url, pp.1-6
- 565
Insights SD, The Fall of Al-Fashir and the Beginning of a New Phase in Darfur, 11 November 2025, url
- 566
DW, Sudan: 400,000 forced to flee Zamzam camp in Darfur, 14 April 2025, url; Netherlands (The), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Country of Origin Information Report on Sudan, December 2025, url, p. 43
- 567
CIR, Fires, extreme violence, and mass displacement following RSF attack on Zamzam camp, North Darfur, 17 April 2025, url; Guardian (The), They slaughtered us like animals’: the inside story of how one of the biggest atrocities of the Sudan war unfolded in Zamzam, 7 August 2025, url
- 568
OHCHR, Hundreds killed in RSF attacks in Sudan’s North Darfur, 14 April 2025, url
- 569
Darfur 24, RSF announces Capture of three locations in three different states, 11 April 2025, url
- 570
Insights SD, The Fall of Al-Fashir and the Beginning of a New Phase in Darfur, 11 November 2025, url
- 571
Arab News, Sudan paramilitary razes Darfur villages, displaces thousands, 6 July 2026, url
- 572
Insights SD, Relative Calm and a Shift in Operational Patterns, 17 January 2026, url
- 573
MEMO, Sudan army’s strategic gains in Darfur, West Kordofan raise hope of ending El Fasher siege and the war, 20 May 2025, url
- 574
Sudan Watch, Al-Tina in Danger Zone: Widespread Threats Amid Military Escalation and Humanitarian Collapse, 16 April 2026, url
- 575
Borkena, RSF Reportedly Attacks in North Darfur Villages Kill Civilians and Force Thousands to Flee to Chad, 6 July 2026, url
- 576
Sudan Watch, Al-Tina in Danger Zone: Widespread Threats Amid Military Escalation and Humanitarian Collapse, 16 April 2026, url
- 577
Sudan Tribune, RSF attacks on Darfur villages kill civilians, spark mass flight to Chad, 5 July 2026, url
- 578
Sudan Tribune, Sudanese joint forces recapture Abu Qamra from RSF in North Darfur, 27 June 2026, url
- 579
Sudan Tribune, RSF attacks on Darfur villages kill civilians, spark mass flight to Chad, 5 July 2026, url
- 580
Ayin Network, Herders vs. farmers: No harvests possible in hunger-stricken Darfur, 30 December 2025, url