Fears have mounted in Sudan after paramilitaries seized the key city of el-Fasher, amid reports of mass atrocities and the killing of five Red Crescent volunteers in Kordofan.

The capture of el-Fasher, the historical heart of Darfur, has accompanied reports of mass killings reminiscent of the region’s darkest days.

After an 18-month siege marked by starvation and bombardment, the city is now under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), descendants of the Janjaweed militias accused of genocide two decades ago.

The paramilitary group, locked in a brutal war with the Sudanese military since April 2023, launched a final assault on the city in recent days, seizing the army’s last positions.

In the neighbouring region of North Kordofan, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent said that five Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers had been killed in Bara on Monday, and that three others were missing after the RSF took control of the town on Saturday.

Analysts say Sudan is now effectively partitioned along an east-west axis, with the RSF running a parallel government across Darfur, while the army is entrenched along the Nile and Red Sea in the north, east and centre.

For many, el-Fasher’s fall revives memories of the 2000s, when the Janjaweed razed villages and killed hundreds of thousands in what is believed to be one of the worst genocides of the 21st century.

Since the city’s fall on Sunday, videos have been shared online, reportedly showing RSF fighters carrying out executions and abusing civilians.

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An RSF-led coalition said on Tuesday it would form a committee to verify the authenticity of videos and allegations, claiming that many of the videos are “fabricated” by the army.

The United Nations warned of “ethnically motivated violations and atrocities”, while the African Union condemned “escalating violence” and “alleged war crimes”.

Pro-democracy groups have described “the worst violence and ethnic cleansing” since Sunday, as the army-allied Joint Forces accused the RSF of killing at least 2,000 civilians.

The UN said more than 26,000 people fled el-Fasher in just two days, most on foot towards Tawila, 70km west.

Approximately 177,000 civilians remain trapped in el-Fasher, according to the UN’s migration agency, after the RSF constructed a 56km (35-mile) earthen berm, sealing off food, medicine and escape routes.

The war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and triggered the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis. Both sides stand accused of widespread atrocities.