The head of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, announced on Wednesday that his troops’ actions during the capture of the Darfur city of el‑Fasher are under formal investigation following reports of mass civilian deaths.
The admission comes amid international outrage over alleged killings in the city and highlights a critical escalation in Sudan’s third year of civil war.
Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, said the RSF will investigate “violations committed by our forces” during Sunday’s takeover of el-Fasher. Speaking shortly after a wave of social-media videos showing civilian fatalities, he expressed regret. “I am sorry for the disaster that has befallen the people of el-Fasher,” he said, noting a committee has been dispatched to the city.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 500 civilians, including patients and their companions, were reportedly shot dead in the city hospital alone, the last one remaining partially functional prior to the assault.
El-Fasher’s fall to the RSF after an 18-month siege has redrawn Sudan’s map. The city had served as the army’s last major foothold in Darfur, making its loss a strategic and symbolic victory for the paramilitary. With the RSF now controlling nearly all of Darfur as well as large parts of neighboring Kordofan, the balance of power has shifted westward.
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The regular army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, remains entrenched in Khartoum and key eastern regions along the Red Sea, including Port Sudan, where the country’s interim government has been operating. This division has effectively split Sudan into rival zones of authority, one dominated by the army and the other by Hemedti’s forces, deepening fears that the conflict could evolve into a long-term partition rather than a temporary military standoff.
The takeover and subsequent allegations have triggered calls for action against the UAE, which activists claim backs the RSF militarily—accusations the Gulf state denies. Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council is expected to convene to discuss the deepening crisis in Sudan.
With the RSF now in firm control of much of western Sudan and the army entrenched elsewhere, the country faces a grim future of fragmented rule and rising humanitarian peril.