During the early days of the armed conflict in Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces quickly seized control of the region, with the exception of four other states other than Northern Darfur.In May 2024, Rapid Support Forces besieged the capital of Northern Darfur, Fashir, and cut off the main transportation outlet to the city.

On the 26th of this month, the Rapid Support Forces announced control of El Fasher. Although the competition between the two sides has temporarily ended, hundreds of thousands of local civilians are trapped in the city, the water and electricity supply is completely interrupted, food and medicine are extremely scarce, and the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.

UN Secretary-General Guterres strongly condemned the attacks on civilians and civilian facilities. Tom Fletcher, UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said hundreds of thousands of civilians in the city are trapped and frightened, under fire and hunger, without access to food, medical care and security.

According to the statistics of Sudanese non-governmental organizations, more than 14,000 local civilians died in war and famine during the nearly 18 months when El Fasher was trapped.

El Silela, a resident of El Fasher City:We hope that the blockade of the city of Fashil will be lifted as soon as possible and that more food aid will come in.

After the rapid support forces took control of the city of Fashil, control of all the state capitals of the five states of the Darfur region was achieved, which changed the balance of forces between the conflicting parties on the western front and could be a major turning point in the armed conflict in Sudan.

Currently, the Sudanese Armed Forces control large areas of eastern, northern and central Sudan. The rapid support force occupies parts of Darfur and Kordofan in western Sudan, controlling nearly 40% of the country. The separatist situation between the east and the west has become increasingly obvious, exacerbating the risk of division of the Sudanese country.