ICC voices alarm over fighting in Sudan's El Fasher as RSF gains ground

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are slowly advancing in the city of El Fasher, in Sudan’s Darfur region, after weeks of street battles against the army and its allies that prompted the International Criminal Court to issue a warning on Tuesday.

The RSF, which has been fighting against the army since April last year, advanced in the city’s eastern and north-eastern districts. More recently, the RSF made inroads in the south, residents said.

The group has faced resistance from former rebels allied with the army. Its fighters, as well as civilians, have also been the targets of the army’s air strikes, the RSF said.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has accused RSF fighters of looting El Fasher’s main South Hospital on Sunday, as well as firing shots at medical staff and patients. The hospital closed and there were no reports of casualties.

Children in Sudan. Millions of people have been displaced by the conflict in the country. AFP

El Fasher in North Darfur is the only one of the region’s four provincial capitals that is not yet controlled by the RSF. Its fall would constitute a turning point in the war that has raged for about 14 months.

The city, an aid centre for a region on the brink of famine, is defended by the army’s 6th Infantry Division and allied former rebels. Its only airport remains under the control of the army, which has resorted to delivering supplies to the local garrison and allies by plane due to the RSF’s siege of the city.

The army has also delivered essential medical supplies to residents.

El Fasher has been the site of fierce fighting since May 10, with at least 192 killed and more than 1,200 wounded, the MSF said. About 150,000 people have fled the city.

Hundreds of new graves have been discovered in analysis of satellite images by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab.

On Tuesday, the ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan voiced concern about the violence raging in Darfur, urging witnesses to send his office evidence to aid an investigation.

“I am extremely concerned about allegations of widespread international crimes being committed in El Fasher and its surrounding areas,” Mr Khan said.

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Evidence already collected “seems to show credible, repeated, expanding, continuous allegations of attacks against the civilian population”, he warned.

Mr Khan said there was also evidence to suggest “the widespread, prevalent use of rape and other forms of sexual violence” and attacks against hospitals.

“It is an outrage that we are allowing history to repeat itself once again in Darfur,” said the prosecutor, alluding to the conflict in Darfur in the 2000s. That violence left 300,000 dead and displaced another 2.5 million, the UN said.

Fighters from Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. AP

“We cannot and we must not allow Darfur to become the world's forgotten atrocity, once again,” said Mr Khan.

Both sides in the Sudan war have been accused of war crimes, including deliberately killing civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and blocking humanitarian aid.

The RSF’s forerunner, a militia known as the Janjaweed, stands accused of war crimes in Darfur during the conflict in the 2000s, as well as the current war.

The ICC is already investigating accusations that RSF fighters and allied militiamen last summer killed thousands from the ethnic African tribe of Masalit in western Darfur. Tens of thousands have fled to neighbouring Chad.

Last week there were reports RSF fighters killed up to 200 people in a village in the central province of Al Gezira, south of the capital Khartoum. Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan has vowed revenge.

Sudan satellite images show hundreds of new graves across Darfur city of El Fasher

The war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands and created the world’s worst case of displacement. More than 10 million people now live away from their homes, including about three million displaced before the war began in April last year.

Another two million people have been forced to flee the country, mostly to neighbouring Chad, South Sudan and Egypt, said Mohammedali Abunajela, an official for the UN's International Organisation for Migration.

“Imagine a city the size of London being displaced. That’s what it’s like, but it’s happening with the constant threat of crossfire, with famine, disease and brutal ethnic and gender-based violence,” IOM director general Amy Pope said.

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin

Director: Shawn Levy

Rating: 3/5

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme

Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates

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RESULT

Huddersfield Town 1 Manchester City 2
Huddersfield: Otamendi (45' 1 og), van La Parra (red card 90' 6)
Man City: Agüero (47' pen), Sterling (84')

Man of the match: Christopher Schindler (Huddersfield Town)

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

While you're here

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'Ashkal'

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Know before you go

Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.

The alternatives

• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.

• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.

• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.

• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.

• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.