'Everybody is terrorised': El-Fasher population drops to just seven percent of last year's high, Amnesty says

El-Fasher, a city in Sudan's North Darfur region, has seen a dramatic population decline of over 90 percent in just one year, according to Amnesty International's recent report. The Emirati-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the city a year ago, and now only 70,000 people remain from a previous population of upwards of a million.

The rights organisation found that unlawful killings, detention, and torture are rampant in El Fasher, with a pervasive atmosphere of fear. Amnesty interviewed 25 civilians, including 19 residents and six humanitarian workers, to gather testimony about the conditions in the city. Many residents have spent time in RSF detention centres, where they claim they were tortured and executed for minor infractions.

One survivor, 29-year-old Modathir, recounted how RSF authorities would execute individuals who appeared to be looking at them, while another man, Hatim, described four months of confinement in a school with around 300 other prisoners. Mamoun, another survivor, revealed that his family had to pay a ransom to secure his release from detention.

Amnesty has called on the RSF to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained, end torture and unlawful killings, and halt the use of forced labour. The organisation also urged the RSF to cease all arbitrary detentions and unlawful killings, as well as the use of forced labour, which is prohibited by international law.