War in Sudan: Escalation, Humanitarian Collapse, and Power Shifts — October 2025 Update
The civil war in Sudan shows no signs of abatement as brutal fighting and atrocities continue right across the country; a recent massacre in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has underlined how the crisis is worsening with the complete collapse of humanitarian conditions.
In its third year now, the war between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces has caused devastation in the lives of millions of people. Both sides have been accused of war crimes, but the RSF has been singled out for atrocities that observers say may amount to genocide, particularly in Darfur.
Battleground and Shifting Control
The RSF now holds nearly full control of Sudan’s western region after seizing the long-besieged city of El-Fasher on October 26, 2025.
The RSF launched mass attacks during the offensive on civilians trying to flee. The Sudan Doctors Network reported that at least 1,500 people were killed within two days; there are also reports of executions, assaults, and indiscriminate shelling.
The group also took control of the strategic town of Baraa in North Kordofan State at the end of October. Witnesses and humanitarian monitors described widespread killings and looting. According to the Sudan Doctors Network, 47 civilians were murdered in their homes and more than 4,500 people were displaced to nearby areas.
With the fall of El-Fasher and Baraa, the RSF now seems poised to advance on El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan. The loss of El-Obeid would be a very serious blow to the SAF since the city is a key defensive point protecting central and eastern Sudan — the army’s last major strongholds.
**Humanitarian Situation Deteriorates Further
Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in El-Fasher, hiding underground or making desperate attempts to cross the desert toward safer towns nearly 60 kilometers away.
Before its fall, the city had been under an 18-month siege imposed by the RSF, cutting off food and medical supplies. Residents were driven to starvation, surviving on animal fodder known locally as “ambaz.”
Those who are fleeing now are equally in dire situations. Many have been dying of dehydration and hunger in the desert. The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, described horrific reports of “women and girls being raped, and people being mutilated” as they try to escape.
The International Organization for Migration estimates that just over 33,000 people have reached nearby towns. Most of them have no shelter or food aid and rely solely on local volunteers for assistance.
Conditions in North Kordofan are no better. The Sudan Doctors Network said close to 1,900 people have arrived in El-Obeid from Baraa — most are sleeping in makeshift shelters without roofs, sanitation, or clean water.
Meanwhile, hunger has reached catastrophic levels nationwide. The SAF recently expelled two senior officials of the World Food Programme, accusing them of “violating neutrality.” The government gave no further details, but WFP warned that this move “jeopardizes humanitarian operations” at a time when more than 24 million Sudanese are suffering from acute food insecurity.
Diplomatic Stalemate
Mediation efforts at resolving the conflict have remained paralyzed. On October 25, representatives from the United States, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia — known collectively as the Quad — met in Washington to discuss a peace roadmap. However, the talks yielded little beyond the creation of a largely symbolic “joint committee” to explore future dialogue.
Only two days later, the RSF launched its brutal assault on El-Fasher — a pattern seen before. In November 2023, after the collapse of peace talks in Jeddah, the RSF quickly seized four out of Darfur’s five states.
Earlier in October, SAF commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo to discuss a possible ceasefire. No concrete progress was reported. As the war drags on, diplomacy has repeatedly failed to stem the bloodletting or even to establish a short-term truce. Sudan is still divided, and its people continue to suffer from one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, as the war does not appear to end. — Would you like me to also create a headline list for it, like a news site’s sidebar — e.g., “UN condemns atrocities,” “Thousands flee Darfur,” etc.?
