Sudan war: Why army is battling to keep Darfur’s El Fasher

The ongoing conflict in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is complex. It’s rooted in weak state institutions, ethnic diversity and historical grievances.

Since the war began in April 2023, tens of thousands of people have died and over 8.6 million have been displaced. This has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

Since April 2024, the Rapid Support Forces have been trying to take over El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur. The city is the only Darfur capital controlled by the Sudanese army.

The battle for El Fasher highlights the complex interplay of broader national tensions involving urban governance, ethnic identity and access to resources. We asked Ibrahim Z. Bahreldin, who has studied Sudan’s urban design and human settlement, to explain the importance of El Fasher in Sudan’s history and its future.

Where is El Fasher?

El Fasher is the capital city of the North Darfur region, which is in western Sudan. Parts of North Darfur border Chad and Libya. The region is the largest of the five states in the Darfur territory in terms of area, and the second largest in population.

El Fasher holds strategic and symbolic importance. It was the cultural and religious heart of the Sultanate of Darfur, which existed from the 17th to the 19th centuries. As a capital city, it has evolved into an administrative, diplomatic and cultural centre.

Its location makes it a hub for agriculture, livestock production and trade. The cultivation of millet, sorghum and groundnuts, along with its livestock industry, substantially supports local and national food supplies.

The city’s accessibility to regional cities makes it central as it’s connected by a primary road in northern Sudan. Until November 2023, El Fasher was the sole entry point for humanitarian aid from Port Sudan, which facilitated the distribution of international aid to other areas. Subsequent fighting and the siege in the region have hindered aid workers’ access to those in need.

El Fasher is inhabited by diverse Sudanese ethnic groups, primarily African (non-Arab) tribes such as the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit. Many of them reside in three displacement camps around the city: Abu Shouk, Zamzam and Al Salaam.

Originally set up to shelter those affected by the 2003 Darfur conflict, the camps have since become embedded within the city’s structure. While there are tribes of Arab origin, most live in South and East Darfur, which are controlled by the Rapid Support Forces. Most of the paramilitary’s troops are from Darfuri Arab communities.

Nonetheless, according to the 2008 population census, El Fasher is one of Sudan’s most diverse cities, with strong social support systems. This makes it difficult to divide its residents based on ethnicity or tribal lines. Until the Rapid Support Forces siege that began in May 2024, the city served as a refuge for those fleeing conflict in other parts of Darfur and Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.

Unfortunately, this harmony faces the threat of the Rapid Support Forces. As its troops attempt to consolidate control over El Fasher, the city’s 1.5 million residents face an uncertain future rife with violence, displacement, disrupted livelihoods and limited access to essential services. These fears are fuelled by allegations of ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses that followed the Rapid Support Forces’ seizure of El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, last year.

As it is, El Fasher is experiencing a humanitarian crisis. The Rapid Support Forces has encircled it, preventing civilian escape. Fleeing individuals face harassment, extortion and confiscation at checkpoints. Hundreds of thousands of previously displaced individuals who had sought refuge in El Fasher are trapped.

The Rapid Support Forces blockade has led to severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel. This has resulted in soaring prices and increasing child malnutrition rates. Indiscriminate shelling and air strikes have destroyed homes and civilian infrastructure, displacing hundreds of thousands and straining resources.

Losing a key urban centre such as El Fasher could worsen regional instability, potentially spreading conflict and displacement to nearby countries like Chad, Niger and Mali.

What role does urban planning play in the El Fasher conflict?

The siege of El Fasher has devastated the city’s infrastructure and disrupted essential services. Damage to electricity and water facilities has left many areas without power or running water, with a severe impact on hospitals, schools and other critical services. Hospitals that remain open are struggling with inadequate supplies to treat the influx of wounded civilians.

Unfortunately, failures in urban governance and planning have worsened the situation. I am an urbanist who has studied human settlements, urban design and planning in Sudan for two decades. In my view, the government should have prioritised resilient infrastructure, community-based disaster response plans or conflict-sensitive design principles in a city that’s been affected by war for over two decades.

Resilient infrastructure reduces disaster losses by enabling cities to withstand, absorb, adapt to or recover from shocks like war. Such infrastructure features alternatives, mobility, local repairability and decentralisation, preventing the complete disruption of critical systems.

Conflict-sensitive design principles construct environments that influence conflict dynamics, including planning safe refuges, equitable resource-sharing policies and memorial spaces acknowledging all losses to promote healing over anger.

The power of resilient infrastructure is well recognised. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme has incorporated it into goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The concept has been implemented in conflict-affected areas like Syria, Iraq, Yemen and, recently, Ethiopia.

El Fasher and the broader Darfur region highlight the importance of strategic governance, planning and conflict-sensitive development in unstable regions.

Sudan may have more immediate development goals, but policymakers and planners should promptly address resilient infrastructure to ensure the region’s long-term well-being.

The possible collapse of El Fasher underscores the need for a coordinated global response to Sudan’s war. Tackling the conflict’s root causes, promoting inclusive governance, improving resilience and supporting humanitarian initiatives are crucial for securing a stable, prosperous future for the country.

Ibrahim Z. Bahreldin is an Associate Professor of Urban & Environmental Design, King Abdulaziz University. He is a member of the Sudanese Institute of Architects and the City Planning Institute of Japan, and is registered as a professional architect and urban planner with the Sudanese Engineering Council and the Saudi Council of Engineers. He is also affiliated with the University of Khartoum in Sudan.