Al-Fashir Under Siege: Reports Detail widespread Sexual Violence, Slavery Amidst Ongoing Conflict
Al-Fashir, Sudan – September 2, 2025 – Mounting evidence indicates a systematic campaign of murder, rape, and enslavement is unfolding in Al-Fashir, North Darfur, as the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensifies. Reports from aid organizations, human rights groups, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) detail atrocities committed primarily against women and girls, with allegations implicating both warring factions and affiliated militias. The city, a critical humanitarian hub, has been largely cut off from outside assistance for months, exacerbating the crisis and hindering verification efforts.
The escalating violence in Al-Fashir represents a catastrophic deepening of the eight-month-old conflict that erupted across Sudan on April 15, 2023. The purposeful targeting of civilians, particularly in Darfur, raises fears of a return to the widespread atrocities committed during the region’s previous conflicts in the early 2000s. With the international community struggling to broker a lasting ceasefire, the situation in Al-Fashir threatens to destabilize the entire region and create a humanitarian disaster of immense scale, perhaps triggering further displacement and regional instability.
According to a report released August 31, 2025, by the International Crisis Group, the RSF and allied Janjaweed militias have been accused of conducting coordinated attacks on civilian populations, including mass killings and the abduction of women and girls for sexual slavery. Witnesses describe scenes of brutal violence, with reports of women being held captive for days or weeks, subjected to repeated rape, and forced into domestic servitude. The SAF has also faced accusations of indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.
“The situation in Al-Fashir is beyond dire,” stated dr. Amina hassan, a local physician who managed to send a message via satellite phone on August 29, 2025. “Hospitals are overwhelmed, supplies are dwindling, and the streets are filled with fear. Women are terrified to leave their homes,even to search for food and water.”
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA) estimates that over 900,000 people have been displaced from Al-Fashir since May 2025, seeking refuge in already overcrowded camps and neighboring towns. Access to these displaced populations remains severely restricted, hindering the delivery of essential aid such as food, water, and medical care.
The legacy of past conflicts in Darfur, marked by widespread atrocities and impunity, looms large over the current crisis. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ongoing investigations into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the region,but bringing perpetrators to justice remains a significant challenge. The current violence underscores the urgent need for increased international pressure on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians,allow unfettered humanitarian access,and hold those responsible for atrocities accountable.