Sudan: One Year After El Fasher’s Fall, the Accountability Record

WarBrief Live | October 31, 2026 | Conflict Zones

One year after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured El Fasher on October 26, 2025, accountability remains largely unresolved: investigations have named commanders and documented abuses, but survivors still await protection, support, and prosecutions.

Overview: why El Fasher still matters

El Fasher was the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) last major stronghold in Darfur when it fell. Its capture was a turning point in Sudan’s war, which began in April 2023 between the SAF and the RSF. Civilians had endured a prolonged siege without adequate food, health care, or humanitarian access, according to UN agencies.

The anniversary tests a simple question: has documentation turned into accountability? Detailed records now exist. A trial, a full missing-persons accounting, and safe conditions for return do not.

Key actors in the El Fasher record

The RSF, which seized the city, is the central actor in the takeover record; the SAF and allied forces defended it. Civilians, including university staff, displaced families, and residents who stayed or returned, provide much of the testimony anchoring the evidence. Investigators include the UN Fact-Finding Mission, the UN human rights office, Amnesty International, the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), and UN Women. Governments have acted mainly through sanctions and funding. Criminal accountability would still require courts, cooperation, and evidence access.

Recent developments in October 2026

• October 23, 2026: Amnesty International published testimony from 25 civilians interviewed in August and September 2026. It reported schools turned into detention centres, controlled movement, and rife unlawful killings, with fewer than 70,000 people remaining against a pre-war population above one million. The RSF had not responded to its October 9 letter.
• October 23, 2026: UN Women told a Geneva briefing that a survey of 50 women’s organisations found 49 reporting psychological distress, 90 percent saying it persisted a year on, and nine in ten describing unsafe conditions. UNHCR said nearly 100,000 people had fled to Chad.
• October 26, 2026: The United Kingdom sanctioned 15 senior RSF and SAF commanders and officials over alleged abuses, including sexual violence, and announced 15 million pounds for civilians and survivors, including 5 million pounds for survivor care. Sanctions are not convictions.
• October 27, 2026: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said nearly 900,000 displaced people were sheltering in Tawila locality, amid overcrowding and shortages. Plan International reported more than 3,400 new arrivals there in September 2026.
• October 30, 2026: The University of El Fasher told the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) that more than 60 affiliates had been killed and more than 150 remained missing, including eight deans, and that halls, laboratories, and the library were destroyed and looted.
• October 30, 2026: CIR identified 25 commanders across five hotspots where sexual violence was reported: Bahri, Wad Madani, Gezira, Zamzam, and El Fasher. CIR stressed its evidence did not assign individual responsibility for specific incidents.

Current status: confirmed findings, open questions

The UN human rights office reported in February 2026 that more than 6,000 people were killed in the first three days of the final attack, including at least 4,400 inside El Fasher and more than 1,600 on escape routes. That month, the UN Fact-Finding Mission concluded the atrocities bore the hallmarks of genocide. Amnesty’s July 2026 report documented crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, with the Zaghawa among groups singled out.

Other questions remain open. The full toll is contested, many missing people are unaccounted for, and the university figures are an institutional record via SUNA, not an independent count. Access in El Fasher remains limited, and OCHA reported Sudan’s nearly 2.9 billion dollar response plan was just over 46 percent funded. See also WarBrief’s Sudan drone war profile, its UK sanctions account, and the Conflict Zones hub.

What to watch next

Whether any CIR-named commander faces formal investigation or further sanctions, and whether open-source mapping becomes court-ready evidence; whether other governments follow the UK measures; and whether funding improves for Tawila. Whether conditions inside El Fasher change: Amnesty has called for a ceasefire, an international protection force, and an end to arms transfers sustaining the RSF. Until civilians can move, seek care, and return without fear, the record will remain documentation without resolution.

Frequently asked questions

When did El Fasher fall?
On October 26, 2025, to the Rapid Support Forces, after a siege of more than 18 months.

Does the CIR investigation prove individual guilt?
No. It identified 25 commanders, but said its evidence did not assign individual responsibility for specific incidents.

Where are El Fasher’s displaced people now?
Many are in Tawila locality, where OCHA reported nearly 900,000 displaced people; nearly 100,000 fled to Chad, according to UNHCR.

Sources

• Fana News (SUNA): El Fasher University toll
• Centre for Information Resilience: Sexual violence investigation
• Amnesty International UK: El Fasher one year on
• UN Web TV: Geneva briefing, October 23, 2026
• MENAFN / OCHA: Survivors one year after El Fasher
• Plan International: One year after El Fasher
• EconoTimes: Britain sanctions 15 Sudan commanders