Key Facts
- Duration
- Approximately 18 months (2023–2025)
- First battle
- 13–20 April 2023
- RSF seizure of El Fasher district
- 26 October 2025
- Refugee camps attacked
- Abu Shouk and Zamzam camps, hundreds killed
- Mosque bombed
- Al Jamia Mosque during Friday prayer, 19 September 2025
Strategic Narrative Overview
Fighting began in April 2023 with a brief SAF-RSF ceasefire, followed by renewed clashes in May before a more stable pause took hold until August. Through 2024, the UN mission withdrew and the RSF intensified pressure on surrounding refugee camps. By mid-2025, indiscriminate bombings of civilian areas escalated sharply. In August 2025, RSF forces began constructing a wall to encircle the city, and a mosque was bombed during Friday prayer on 19 September 2025.
01 / The Origins
El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, became the last major city in Darfur under Sudanese Armed Forces control following the outbreak of the Sudanese civil war in April 2023. As the RSF swept through the region, capturing other Darfur capitals, El Fasher emerged as a critical SAF holdout. The city simultaneously drew hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians seeking refuge, making it both a military objective and a humanitarian focal point.
03 / The Outcome
The RSF captured El Fasher district on 26 October 2025 following the retreat of the SAF's 6th Infantry Division, completing its takeover of Darfur. In the immediate aftermath, RSF militants conducted the El Fasher massacre, carrying out mass killings of civilians in and around the city. Several thousand survivors fled to Tawila, and as of early November 2025, massacres were reported to be continuing.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.