CAIRO – In a violent surge of conflict, paramilitary forces stormed through the Sudanese army’s final bastion in Darfur on Tuesday. The attacks, which involved fighters using vehicles, camels, and even traveling on foot, resulted in the deaths and detainment of hundreds, marking yet another grim chapter in Sudan’s prolonged war, now stretching beyond 31 months.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched an aggressive takeover of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state. This move has been condemned by the United Nations chief as a “terrible escalation” in the ongoing conflict.

According to medical organizations, RSF combatants have killed numerous civilians and captured hundreds more since seizing the army’s stronghold in El Fasher on Sunday.

The Sudanese military announced it had vacated the city in an effort to shield civilians from the escalating violence, prompted by more than a year of RSF assaults. Military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan stated that the retreat was necessary due to “the systemic destruction, and the systemic killing of civilians” perpetrated by the RSF.

The conflict ignited in April 2023, following long-standing tensions between the Sudanese military and the RSF, which erupted into open warfare in the capital, Khartoum, and various regions across the nation.

The situation has been further exacerbated by reports of attacks on civilians and summary executions, painting a dire picture of the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it received credible reports of atrocities including summary executions, attacks on civilians along escape routes and house-to-house raids. Sexual violence, particularly against women and girls, was also reported in the city, it said.

Graphic footage flooded social media showing fighters in RSF uniforms shooting and beating people as they attempted to flee. Other footage showed troops on vehicles and camels roaming city streets.

Many were shown detained, with one video showing a group of young people wearing the Sudanese Red Crescent vests being held and beaten by an armed fighter.

“The reports emerging from El Fasher are horrifying,” said Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Tigere Chagutah. He urged the RSF to stop its attacks on civilians and allow humanitarian aid into the city.

“The people of El Fasher have already endured the RSF’s brutal 18-month long siege of the city,” he said. “All those responsible for the ongoing atrocities must be held individually accountable.”

Medical workers abducted

The Sudan Doctors Network, a medical group tracking the war, said RSF fighters abducted five medical workers, including four doctors, a pharmacist and a nurse from the city.

The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab published a report Tuesday relying on satellite imagery that said RSF forces were “conducting alleged mass killings” after seizing El Fasher.

Using imagery from Airbus taken Monday, the lab pointed out a series of scenes in El Fasher’s Daraja Oula neighborhood. They included what appeared to be gun-mounted trucks, known as “technicals,” in the streets in formations that appeared like roadblocks.

“Imagery analysis shows objects consistent with the size of human bodies on the ground near RSF vehicles, including at least five instances of reddish earth discoloration,” the report said.

The Associated Press separately accessed and analyzed the satellite images from Airbus, matching those details highlighted by the Humanitarian Research Lab.

While the AP was not able to conclusively determine what the objects on the ground or the red splotches seen in the dirt were, it raises new concerns about the RSF’s conduct after taking El Fasher.

The U.N.’s human rights office said it feared the RSF was “carrying out atrocities, including summary executions” in El Fasher. It cited social media footage circulating the internet showing fighters purportedly gunning down unarmed men.

No comment from RSF on atrocity allegations

The RSF has not addressed allegations against it. The paramilitary force grew out of the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias that carried out genocide during the Darfur conflict in the 2000s. The Biden administration in one of its last acts declared the RSF and its allies were committing genocide in the current war.

The fall of El Fasher to the RSF could usher in another split of Sudan, more than a decade after South Sudan’s creation after years of fighting between the central government and rebels.

In comments in Malaysia on Monday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the fall of El Fasher marked a “terrible escalation” in the war and called for ceasing foreign military support to the warring parties.

“The problem is not only the fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, but also the growing external interference that undermines prospects for a ceasefire and a political solution,” he was quoted as saying by a U.N. spokesman.

Guterres didn’t name a specific country, but the Sudanese government and rights groups have repeatedly accused the United Arab Emirates of being involved in the war by supplying the RSF with weapons, a claim denied by the Gulf country.

Red Cross volunteers killed in Bara

Also on Tuesday, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced that five of its volunteers were killed in the city of Bara, in Kordofan state, while distributing food. It said three other volunteers were missing. The group said the team were dressed in uniform with the Red Crescent logo.

“Any attack on humanitarian teams is unacceptable,” the group said in a statement. “We strongly reiterate our call for unwavering respect for the Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems and the crucial humanitarian services they represent.”

The war has killed over 40,000 people, according to the U.N, but the actual toll is highly likely much higher. The war has also created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with part of the country, including the El Fasher area, plunged into famine. Over 14 million people have fled their homes. ___

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.