Prayers for Journalists and Civilians in El-Fasher Amid Communications Blackout
Assalamu alaikum - Human rights and media groups are urging immediate protection for journalists as El-Fasher faces an almost complete communications blackout after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces.
Limited and fragmented reports are coming out about the humanitarian disaster unfolding in North Darfur’s capital. Sudan’s government says the RSF killed more than 2,000 civilians over the past weekend.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says up to 11 journalists are missing from El-Fasher, including freelance reporter Muhammad Ibrahim. A video circulated by the RSF reportedly showed Ibrahim being captured as he tried to leave the city.
On Thursday, the CPJ said it had confirmed the whereabouts of three of the missing journalists - all of whom have managed to flee. The others remain unreachable amid continuing fighting and the communications blackout that makes outside verification nearly impossible.
“The RSF’s claims that it is only targeting ‘terrorists’ and not civilians follow a familiar pattern - first denying civilian harm, then shifting blame, then suppressing journalists who try to report the truth,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ regional director.
Clashes have intensified since April 2023, when splits within Sudan’s military turned into open fighting in Khartoum and then spread across the country. Over the weekend the RSF captured the last regional capital in Darfur after an 18-month siege, widening its control in western Sudan.
A widespread communications shutdown in much of North Darfur is preventing independent confirmation, isolating journalists and trapping affected communities.
Multiple sources say that as the RSF advanced, they detained journalists, killed many civilians, and shared footage of their operations online - a chilling step up in repression of both the press and the public, the CPJ said.
About 260,000 civilians are estimated to still be trapped in the city, roughly half of them children.
“This cycle breeds impunity, blocks independent reporting and weakens accountability,” Qudah added. “We call on all parties and the international community to act now to protect journalists, restore communications and ensure justice for these serious violations.”
Local media and rights groups have condemned the attacks as showing a complete disregard for international law and human dignity, and urged the world to pressure the RSF to allow food, medicine and humanitarian aid into the city and to stop summary executions and ethnically motivated killings.
The CPJ also recommended targeted sanctions and other accountability measures against RSF leaders, saying the international community can no longer wait to defend the public’s right to know and the safety of journalists in El-Fasher.
Since the conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces began on April 15, 2023, the CPJ reports at least 14 journalists have been killed and many others detained, assaulted, raped or disappeared.
Please make dua for the safety of those affected and for an end to the suffering.
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