Amnesty International Reports Widespread Abuse and Detention in El Fasher Under RSF Control

Civilians remaining in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, Sudan, continue to face arbitrary detention, torture, unlawful killings, and severe shortages of humanitarian aid one year after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the city, human rights organisation Amnesty International reported.

According to findings released by the organization, based on interviews conducted in August and September 2026 with 19 former and current residents and six humanitarian workers, schools and prisons across the city have been utilized as detention facilities. Humanitarian organizations estimate that fewer than 70,000 residents remain in El Fasher, down from a pre-war population exceeding one million.

Seventeen of the nineteen residents interviewed stated they were detained by the RSF for months, with several noting that individuals from specific ethnic groups, particularly the Zaghawa and Masalit, were disproportionately targeted for abuse. Witnesses reported severe beatings, arbitrary executions, and inadequate provision of food and water in facilities such as Shala prison. Releases were frequently secured only through ransom payments or escape.

Testimonies also detailed the confinement of women, children, and injured men in local schools that functioned as de facto detention centres. Former detainees reported severe deprivation that led to critical malnutrition among children, as well as instances of forced labour, including clearing rubble and collecting corpses. Satellite imagery analysed by Amnesty International indicated that while activity at several school sites decreased by September 2026, other facilities like Shala prison and the Mina al-Bari detention centre continued to show significant signs of operation.

Humanitarian workers operating under tight RSF surveillance expressed serious concerns over food security, with official assessments warning that IPC Level 5 famine conditions are highly likely in North Darfur in the coming months.

Amnesty International stated it contacted the RSF on October 9 regarding the allegations but received no response prior to publication. The organisation has renewed its calls for an immediate ceasefire, the deployment of an international civilian protection force, and an expanded United Nations arms embargo covering the entirety of Sudan.

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