By Abby Burczyk
On Sunday October 26, members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) declared that they have captured the city of El Fasher, Sudan. Since 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in civil war which has concerned the international community of ethnic cleansing and genocide. The RSF emerged in the early 2000s from the Janjaweed militia. Both Janjaweed and the RSF are ethnic-Arab militias and have been targeting African ethnic groups in the Darfur region. Since the beginning of the civil war in 2023, more than 12 million people have been displaced and tens of thousands have been killed. Since El Fasher was taken over by the RSF, Sudan Doctors Network has reported that at least 1,500 people have been killed trying to flee the city.
The RSF is looking outside of the Darfur region for future conquests, specifically the neighboring region of Kordofan. Before officially seizing El Fasher on Sunday, the RSF took control of a significant transportation city of Bara in northern Kordofan. Control of Bara follows plans of the RSF to control important routes connecting Darfur to central Sudan. The Kordofan region, if overtaken by the RSF, will give access to Sudan’s oil. Likely, if the RSF maintains control of Darfur and takes control of Kordofan, the future of Sudan will fall into the discretion of the RSF.
The United Nations has been quick to condemn the wide spread killings by the RSF. The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on October 30 to discuss reports of severe malnourishment and mass displacement in Sudan as a result of recent RSF action. The UN Security Council has announced that it will continue to refuse to recognize the RSF as a Sudanese government. The leader of the RSF, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo also known as Hemedti, announced an investigation into any violations committed by the RSF after international outcry. Despite this commitment, reports of great tragedy continues to flood out of Sudan.
The Patterson Journal of International Affairs 
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