Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Forces Escalate Massacres in El-Fasher and Kordofan, Leaving 40,000 Dead and 12 Million Displaced

Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Forces Escalate Massacres in El-Fasher and Kordofan, Leaving 40,000 Dead and 12 Million Displaced

18 November, 20255 sources compared
Sudan

Key Points from 5 News Sources

  1. 1

    Conflict since April 2023 has killed at least 40,000 and displaced about 12 million.

  2. 2

    Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces are fighting intensely in El-Fasher and Kordofan.

  3. 3

    ICC prosecutors request life imprisonment for Ali Kushayb, convicted on 27 counts of Darfur atrocities.

Full Analysis Summary

Sudan war and humanitarian crisis

Sudan's civil war, which began in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has escalated into a renewed humanitarian catastrophe concentrated in Darfur and Kordofan.

International agencies estimate at least 40,000 killed and some 12 million displaced since the fighting began.

El-Fasher was captured on October 26, 2025 after an 18-month siege.

The UN and World Health Organization have warned about the scale and severity of the crisis, with the UN humanitarian chief describing Darfur as "the world's capital of human suffering".

Military analysts warn clashes are intensifying across Kordofan as both sides seek to secure or sever supply lines, widening the conflict beyond Darfur.

Coverage Differences

Emphasis/Tone

Evrim Ağacı (West Asian) emphasizes the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur and El‑Fasher, detailing sieges, sexual assaults, displacement and WHO/UN estimates, while Al‑Jazeera Net (West Asian) foregrounds military dynamics in Kordofan with a specialist’s analysis of supply lines and maneuvers. Africanews (African) stresses the legal and accountability dimension, highlighting ICC developments tied to Darfur. Each source thus frames the crisis differently — humanitarian emergency (Evrim Ağacı), military operational analysis (Al‑Jazeera Net), and judicial accountability (africanews).

Scope/Focus

While Evrim Ağacı centers reporting on the capture of El‑Fasher and the resulting humanitarian toll, Al‑Jazeera contextualizes that event within a broader push into Kordofan and supply‑line competition, and africanews frames the crisis alongside the ICC’s legal milestones — indicating divergent source priorities (humanitarian details vs. battlefield analysis vs. accountability reporting).

El‑Fasher: atrocities and displacement

Eyewitness and medical group accounts documented in reporting point to systematic atrocities around El‑Fasher, including detentions, torture, killings and mass sexual assaults.

The Sudan Doctors Network documented 32 cases of rape among girls fleeing El‑Fasher in one week and called for an independent international investigation and survivor support.

Large population movements followed the fall of the city: nearly 100,000 people fled El‑Fasher recently, but only about 10,000 have reached nearby Tawila and many remain missing or reportedly held in detention centres.

Coverage Differences

Detail vs. Analysis

Evrim Ağacı provides granular humanitarian details — numbers of rape cases, detention reports and displacement figures — whereas Al‑Jazeera’s reporting in the same moment relies on a military expert’s sequencing of battles and territorial claims, and africanews does not dwell on these survivor‑level details but links the context to legal accountability at the ICC.

Sudan territorial control reports

Territorial control and battlefield dynamics are presented differently across reports.

Evrim Ağacı states the RSF now controls all five Darfur states while the army holds the rest of Sudan, including Khartoum.

The ICC is collecting evidence amid accusations of mass atrocities.

Al-Jazeera’s military analysis extends the theatre into Kordofan.

It quotes Col. Staff Hatim al-Falahi saying the RSF currently controls five Kordofan states while the army holds ten.

The report adds that air power and drone strikes on airports are shaping operations.

These variances reflect overlapping and distinct geographic emphases and signal potential contradictions or complementary snapshots of a fast-moving conflict front.

Coverage Differences

Contradiction/Geographic Emphasis

Evrim Ağacı reports RSF control over the five Darfur states, focusing on Darfur’s fall, while Al‑Jazeera attributes control of five states to the RSF in Kordofan — these are different geographic claims (Darfur vs Kordofan) and could reflect either sequential shifts, reporting focus, or inconsistent phrasing. Africanews does not provide a territorial summary but focuses on casualties and legal proceedings.

Operational Focus

Al‑Jazeera emphasizes operational indicators — fall of the army’s Sixth Division in Al‑Fashir, siege of the 22nd Division in Babnusa, air power roles and drone strikes — while Evrim Ağacı focuses on the humanitarian and atrocity evidence surrounding those battlefield shifts.

ICC conviction and media coverage

The international and judicial response is underscored by Africanews' report of an ICC conviction.

The court convicted former Janjaweed commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (Ali Kushayb) on 27 counts, including murder, rape and persecution, for a Darfur campaign of massacres and village burnings.

Prosecutors are seeking the maximum penalty of life imprisonment, marking the ICC's first conviction related to the Darfur conflict.

Evrim Ağacı likewise reports the ICC is collecting evidence amid accusations of mass atrocities.

Al-Jazeera's coverage focuses on military assessments rather than legal milestones, highlighting divergent emphases between accountability and battlefield reporting.

Coverage Differences

Narrative Focus

africanews highlights the ICC conviction and its significance as a legal milestone in Darfur; Evrim Ağacı mentions the ICC’s evidence collection in the context of ongoing atrocity allegations, while Al‑Jazeera places more weight on military analysis and less on judicial developments — demonstrating how source type (African reporting vs. West Asian military reporting) shapes coverage priorities.

Humanitarian access crisis

Humanitarian access and relief are under acute pressure as frontline combat and attempts to sever supply lines intensify, with reporters noting that aid delivery remains highly dangerous and large numbers of displaced people exceed available assistance.

The RSF’s territorial gains and reported strikes on infrastructure, including drone attacks on airports, have compounded the difficulty of delivering aid and tracking missing civilians.

Agencies warn that the humanitarian response is far short of needs even as mass displacement continues.

Coverage Differences

Cause vs. Consequence Framing

Evrim Ağacı frames the humanitarian crisis as the direct consequence of sieges and mass atrocities (detentions, rape, killings) and stresses numbers displaced and killed, while Al‑Jazeera frames how military tactics — cutting supply lines, air power and drone strikes — impede aid flows. Africanews frames the crisis alongside the need for accountability (ICC) rather than operational impediments to aid, showing differing framings (humanitarian consequence, military cause, legal response).

All 5 Sources Compared

abcnews.go

ICC prosecutors seek life sentence for Janjaweed leader convicted of Darfur crimes

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africanews

ICC prosecutors seek life sentence for Janjaweed leader convicted of Darfur crimes

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Al-Jazeera Net

The International Criminal Court prosecution is seeking life imprisonment for the Sudanese Ali Kushayb.

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Al-Jazeera Net

Al-Falahi: The Sudanese army is trying to take control of Kordofan to cut off the Rapid Support's supplies.

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Evrim Ağacı

Sudan Faces New Atrocities As War Rages In Darfur

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