People displaced from el-Fasher continue to arrive in Tawila, describe horrors of escape

Sudanese people who escaped violence in North Darfur capital el-Fasher have recalled the horrors they experienced fleeing the city.

A video released by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) showed hundreds of people at displacement camps in the city of Tawila.

One of them, Jamila Ismail, is a mother of seven.

After an attack at a local market, Ismail lost one of her children in the chaos.

"I checked dead bodies. It’s a very strange feeling - very unnatural - when you have someone missing. We’ve grown used to assuming that if someone doesn’t come back, they’re probably dead," she said.

Luckily, Ismail later discovered that her son survived but had been badly wounded and taken to a medical center for surgery.

The United Nations estimates over 2,000 Sudanese pregnant women have fled el-Fasher to escape conflict.

The Deputy Economic Security Coordinator for ICRC said that the situation of the people arriving in Tawila is extremely difficult.

"They are even not able to cover their basic needs. They are hungry, thirsty, traumatised and exhausted. Some of them are even injured or sick and have lost contact with their beloved ones" Hussein Rasool, ICRC Deputy Economic Security Coordinator said.

Rampage

Last month, RSF forces rampaged through el-Fasher, following more than 500 days of siege.

The paramilitary group had gone house to house, killing civilians and committing sexual assaults, according to relief agencies and witnesses.

The RSF also stormed the Saudi Maternity Hospital, the last functioning health facility in el-Fasher, reportedly killing 460 patients and their companions.

The attack left more than 6,000 pregnant women with no access to life-saving maternal care, according to the UN

The rampage has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes, embarking on a perilous journey, hoping to reach displacement camps.

Civil war

The war between the RSF and the military began in 2023, when tensions erupted between the two former allies that were meant to oversee a democratic transition after a 2019 uprising.

The fighting has killed at least 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and displaced 12 million.

Aid groups say the true death toll could be many times higher.