KHARTOUM — Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced Sunday that it had captured the Sudanese army’s 6th Division Headquarters in the besieged city of El-Fasher, signaling a major shift in the country’s two-year civil war.

In a statement shared on social media, the RSF said it had destroyed “huge military vehicles” and seized large quantities of equipment at the base, which served as the army’s main command center in Darfur.

The seizure marks a devastating setback for government forces, as El-Fasher was their last stronghold in the Darfur region.

With the RSF now effectively in control of the area, the Sudanese army’s presence in western Sudan has all but collapsed. The army has not yet commented on the loss.

The RSF has maintained a siege around El-Fasher for 18 months, subjecting army positions and civilians to relentless bombardment.

An estimated 300,000 people have been trapped inside the city, facing severe shortages of food and medical supplies. Hunger and disease have spread as aid deliveries remain largely cut off.

Satellite imagery in August revealed extensive earthen barriers built around the city, apparently designed to prevent escape or outside assistance.

Over the past several weeks, RSF fighters advanced on the army headquarters from multiple directions before finally breaching the compound.

Although pockets of resistance remain in parts of the city held by the army and allied groups, analysts say their collapse is only a matter of time.

UN investigators have accused the RSF of committing crimes against humanity during the siege of El-Fasher, while the U.S. has gone further, labeling the group’s actions in Darfur as genocide targeting the region’s non-Arab population.

Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when tensions between the army and the RSF—once partners in power—erupted into full-scale war.

The fighting has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced around 12 million, triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

The army continues to hold most of Sudan’s northern and eastern territories, while the RSF dominates nearly all of Darfur and large parts of Kordofan.

The paramilitary group has indicated that once it consolidates control of El-Fasher, it intends to establish a rival government in the city. — BBC