One year after the Rapid Support Forces captured El Fasher in Sudan, a new UN Women survey reveals that 90 per cent of organizations supporting displaced women and girls report persistent psychological distress, alongside ongoing trauma, struggles to find food and healthcare, and human rights abuses documented by Amnesty International.
Persistent Trauma and Daily Danger for Displaced Women
The scars left by the fall of El Fasher remain raw. UN Women conducted a survey of 50 women’s organizations supporting those displaced from the city, finding that trauma and insecurity continue to dictate daily life. Nine in ten organizations surveyed described displaced women and girls as living in unsafe conditions.
Out of the 50 organizations, 49 observed signs of psychological distress, and 45 of them—representing 90 per cent—reported that this distress persists today. Furthermore, 48 organizations noted that women are unable to sleep because of the trauma they have experienced.
Around two-thirds of the organizations were aware of women or girls who disappeared during or after the fall of the city. Access to remedy remains scarce. Forty-three of the surveyed groups encountered distressed women who had received zero mental health, psychosocial, or legal support since fleeing, while nearly half reported that few or none of the women they work with can access such care.
Testimonies of Detention, Torture, and Forced Labor in El Fasher
Concurrent findings released by Amnesty International detail systemic abuses inside El Fasher over the past year. In August and September 2026, researchers interviewed 25 civilians, including 19 residents. Of those residents, 17 had been detained by the Rapid Support Forces, enduring months of captivity characterized by torture, unlawful killings, and minimal sustenance.
Detainees described horrific conditions in prisons and makeshift facilities set up in schools and hospitals. Specific ethnic groups, notably the Zaghawa and Masalit, faced heightened targeting.
Torture is something which is permanent in any [RSF] detention. They executed people who tried to look at them… If you sleep a lot, they don’t like that, they will execute you. They ask, ‘You want to take a rest? We will give you permanent rest’.
Modathir, detained resident
Other survivors recounted being forced into unpaid labor. Musa, a 23-year-old Zaghawa man detained at El Fasher Children’s Hospital in October 2025, was forced alongside his father to collect corpses and appear on camera to falsely claim the city was safe. Women held in school-turned-detention centers reported receiving minimal food and water while facing severe racialized abuse and slurs.
Famine Risks Grow as Civilians Face Catastrophic Conditions
Beyond direct violence, civilians face catastrophic humanitarian conditions. Official assessments indicate that IPC Level 5 famine is highly likely in North Darfur, including El Fasher, in the months ahead. Displaced families attempting to return or survive locally face severe movement restrictions.
According to the 2026 Sudan Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment by the International Organization for Migration, 84 per cent of 117 surveyed households in Al Fasher reported that women avoid marketplaces, two-thirds avoid collecting firewood, and half avoid social, community, or religious spaces out of fear.
Medical infrastructure across the region has effectively shattered. The UN Fact-Finding Mission found that 80 per cent of hospitals in conflict-affected areas are not functioning, driving up maternal deaths. Critical service providers attempting to deliver health and mental health care face ongoing threats of arrest and harassment in the complete absence of protection.
