Dozens of displaced civilians have been detained by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its allied Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements (JSAMF) following major military setbacks in North Darfur, including the capture of the Zamzam IDP camp by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) last week after repeated assaults.

The wave of arrests began in early April, shortly before the RSF seized Zamzam – located 12 kilometers south of El Fasher, the state capital – and intensified after the camp’s fall. As SAF positions weakened, detentions escalated in Abu Shok camp, located on the northern outskirts of the city.

RSF ground assaults, drone strikes, and artillery barrages have continued to hammer IDP camps and surrounding neighborhoods, killing hundreds of civilians – including at least 12 humanitarian workers during last week’s attacks – and necessitating a mass exodus from the town as the Sudanese military fails to provide necessary protection for the civilians.

Thousands of displaced families have fled toward Tawila, a town about 50 kilometers southwest of El Fasher controlled by the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) led by Abdelwahid Nour, and to Korma locality, held by the Sudan Liberation Army – Transitional Council (SLA-TC) led by Al Hadi Idris.

Both Idris and Abdelwahid Nour have publicly maintained neutrality in the conflict between SAF and the RSF and have urged civilians to evacuate to areas under their control, citing relative calm and the absence of direct military operations.

However, the SAF views these movements with deep suspicion, particularly in the case of SLA-TC areas. Al Hadi Idris has been increasingly perceived by the Sudanese military as aligned with the RSF, especially after signing a constitutional charter in Nairobi to establish a parallel government in opposition to the SAF-led administration in Port Sudan.

In Sudan’s conflict dynamics, control over civilian populations carries both strategic and symbolic weight. The SAF fears that civilian relocation into RSF-held or neutral areas undermines its claims to public support and territorial legitimacy – especially in El Fasher, the last major city under SAF and Joint Force control in Darfur.

The exodus is not just seen as a security concern but a symbolic loss. Within SAF circles, the decision by civilians to flee to areas seen as hostile or “neutral” is interpreted as defection – an implicit vote of no confidence in the army’s ability to offer protection or governance.

Last week, when Al Hadi Idris renewed his appeal for civilians to relocate to Korma, the SAF and its allies interpreted the call not as a humanitarian gesture but as a deliberate political move aimed at undermining public confidence in the SAF and the Joint Forces in North Darfur.

In this context, IDP sources speaking to Sudan War Monitor said SAF and JSAMF intelligence services have been detaining civilians accused of encouraging displaced people to flee El Fasher for RSF-controlled or neutral areas. Many of those arrested are community leaders and camp activists.

Adam Rajal, spokesperson for the General Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees in North Darfur, confirmed the wave of detentions in a statement to Sudan War Monitor. He rejected accusations by SAF and its allies that local leaders were aiding RSF efforts or directing the displaced to flee.

“On April 17, 2025, and before that, a large-scale campaign of arrests took place, targeting dozens of displaced persons in the Abu Shok camp in El Fasher. The leaders and activists of the displaced people were specifically targeted. The arrests were carried out by the Sudanese army’s intelligence and the joint forces affiliated with the Juba Peace Agreement movements... These charges are false and have no connection to these innocent displaced people. The main goal is to suppress and eliminate the displaced, nothing more,” Rajal said.

Rajal further accused SAF and JSAMF of blocking civilians from leaving and using them as human shields – while condemning RSF’s indiscriminate bombardment of the camps and stray SAF airstrikes on the civilian areas.

“The Abu Shouk camp has been subjected to heavy artillery shelling by the RSF since May 10, 2024... The camp also suffered airstrikes from the Sudanese army last January... The Sudanese army and the joint forces have positioned themselves around the camp, refusing to allow the displaced to leave, using them as human shields.”

He cited a deepening humanitarian crisis, with water prices surging to 25,000 Sudanese pounds per barrel and access to food and markets severely constrained following the destruction of two key water sources.

A displaced person in Abu Shok, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisal, estimated that around 30 civilians were being held in military intelligence cells under accusations of incitement.

“The Sudanese army, represented by the military intelligence and the joint force’s intelligence, are carrying out arrests and intimidating activists in the camp, under the pretext that they are inciting the displaced to leave...”

Another source said the detentions began before the RSF seized Zamzam and were meant to silence those highlighting the dangers civilians faced.

“The displaced have reached the conclusion that the situation in Zamzam camp has become unbearable, so they decided to leave for a safer and more stable place, away from the systematic gunfire directed at them and the intentional shelling by the Rapid Support Forces inside Zamzam camp continuously. The allegations claiming that the displaced are collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces are all lies... meant to silence the leaders of the displaced people from telling the truth.”

Mohamed Isahaq Haroun, a civil society activist based in Abu Shok, confirmed the arrests but questioned the reported number, suggesting some figures had been exaggerated by individuals politically opposed to SAF and the Joint Forces.

“The arrest by the joint force's intelligence and the forces affiliated with the Sudanese army,” he said, “is real, but the numbers are inflated. That said, the military is working to silence those calling for the camps not to be turned into battlefields.”

Sudanese intelligence services were granted expanded powers under 2024 amendments to the General Intelligence Service Law. Under the revised legal framework, collaboration with the RSF is considered a capital offense, and authorities may carry out arrests without warrants.

Fighting intensifies as RSF renews attacks on El Fasher

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have escalated their military campaign to seize El Fasher, the last major city in Darfur still under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its allied Joint Forces. The battle for the North Darfur capital, already fierce following the capture of Zamzam IDP camp by the RSF, has now entered a new and more dangerous phase.

On Thursday afternoon, RSF forces launched coordinated attacks from the southern axis of El Fasher, reaching areas south of the Khatim El Anbiya Mosque, according to videos geolocated and verified by Sudan War Monitor. SAF and allied forces repelled the assault, which appeared to serve as a diversion for a second, larger attack later that night.

That evening, the RSF launched a renewed offensive, which local sources described as one of the fiercest battles since the escalation began. Following the fighting, the SAF claimed the RSF suffered heavy losses, while pro-army social media accounts alleged that Bashir Nuor El Daem, a senior RSF commander leading the operation, was captured.

Sudan War Monitor could not independently verify the claim. However, on Friday morning, the SAF’s Sixth Infantry Division in El Fasher issued a statement describing the battle as a major victory and confirming the “neutralization” of the RSF force commander, though it did not identify him by name.

In the statement, the army said fighting began at 9:00 p.m. and lasted until 11:15 p.m., unfolding across three main axes. It claimed that RSF forces entering the city from the northeast were countered, with the commanding officer “neutralized” and the deputy commander, who it identified as Colonel Musa Hamidan Barsham, killed.

The army reported that around 70 RSF fighters were killed, 30 others wounded, and survivors fled the battlefield toward Zamzam camp and other locations outside the city aboard combat vehicles. The attacking force was estimated by the military at 700 fighters with approximately 60 vehicles.

In the SAF’s telling, the RSF made use of all available weaponry but were overwhelmed by the resilience of government forces, and further accused the group of launching the night assault under the influence of narcotics, claiming “the militia, under the illusion fueled by drugs, imagined that a night attack would bring down El Fasher,” but insisted that the army remained “awake, alert, and fully present on the battlefield.”

The renewed assaults come amid continued heavy RSF bombardment of El Fasher’s residential neighborhoods and IDP camps. Following the RSF's capture of Zamzam camp earlier this month, artillery attacks on civilian areas have intensified.

On Monday, at least 47 civilians were killed in RSF shelling of Abu Shok camp and northern neighborhoods of El Fasher. The following day, the El Fasher Resistance Committee reported the deaths of at least eight civilians from a new RSF shelling, and on Wednesday, further bombardments killed over 20 civilians and wounded at least 17 others, including women and children.

“Since the early hours of the morning, clashes have taken place along the northern and eastern fronts of El Fasher city. Following this, the city and its surrounding areas – including Abu Shouk camp and the livestock market – were subjected to heavy shelling by Janjaweed militias at various intervals throughout the day, continuing into the evening hours,” the Resistance Committee said in a statement.

El Fasher's strategic significance is central to the fighting. As the capital of North Darfur State, it remains the only major city in Darfur not under RSF control. Its governor, Arko Minni Minnawi – leader of the Zaghawa-dominated Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) – faces mounting pressure as the RSF closes in.

The RSF already controls the capitals of South Darfur, Central Darfur, East Darfur, and West Darfur. Securing El Fasher would consolidate their hold over the entire Darfur, which is the home region of most of its forces.

Beyond its size – being Darfur’s largest city – El Fasher carries historic and symbolic weight. It served as the seat of Sultan Ali Dinar, the last Fur ruler of Darfur before colonial conquest, and remains central to Darfur’s political identity.

Control of El Fasher would also be pivotal to RSF’s broader political ambitions. In recent weeks, RSF leaders and their allies signed a constitutional charter aimed at establishing a parallel government that would potentially be based in Darfur. As its presence in central Sudan has all but collapsed, the RSF hopes to present itself as a viable alternative, banking on control of Darfur to bolster its claims of legitimacy in any future peace negotiations.

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In this video posted online following fighting in El Fasher on Thursday afternoon, RSF fighters display captured ammunition and mocking Sudan Liberation Army leader and Darfur Governor Minni Minnawi, as well as SAF commander Abdelfattah Al-Burhan.

In this video, geolocated to coordinates (13°36'1.78"N, 25°20'19.33"E) in El Fasher and filmed on Thursday, RSF fighters are seen after the fighting, with one combatant carrying a fellow fighter who appears to have been wounded during the confrontation.

In the video, RSF fighters display captured police uniforms and a PKM machine gun, boasting that they defeated their opponents "even with these automatic machine guns."

In this video, a shell is seen striking a building in the interior of El Fasher, possibly fired from an elevated position.