New Barrier Erected in El-Fasher Amid Ongoing Conflict in Sudan

Sat Oct 18 2025 03:25:32 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Satellite images reveal the construction of an extensive earthen barrier around the besieged city of El-Fasher, aimed at trapping civilians amidst intensified fighting between Sudan's military and the RSF.

Recent satellite imagery indicates that a significant earthen wall, estimated at over 31km in length, is being built around the Sudanese city of El-Fasher. This development comes as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue to engage in heavy assaults against civilians and military targets in the area. The wall reinforces siege conditions, complicating humanitarian access and endangering the lives of an estimated 300,000 residents.

An extensive earthen wall is being built around the besieged Sudanese city of el-Fasher and is intended to trap people inside, according to research from Yale University.

From satellite images, the university's Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) has identified more than 31km (19 miles) of berms - or raised banks - constructed since May in territory outside the city occupied by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

El-Fasher, under siege for more than a year, is the last major foothold in Darfur for Sudan's army, which has been battling the RSF since April 2023.

The Sudan Doctors Network has told the BBC that the RSF was intensifying its offensive there and deliberately targeting civilians.

Yesterday there was a shelling in a civilian area down in the city centre that ended up killing almost 24 civilians and injuring 55 people, among them five women, Dr Mohamed Faisal Hassan, from the medics association, told the BBC's Newsday programme.

The attacks on the central market and a residential area were deliberate and heinous, he said.

Three days ago they targeted one of the biggest hospitals in el-Fasher and resulted in a massive massacre of patients and medical staff.

BBC Verify states both sides in the conflict have been using berms as a defensive tool. Still, the analysis by Yale's HRL suggests that the RSF is creating a literal kill box around el-Fasher.

The HRL traced the construction of the earthen walls on to a map of el-Fasher.

Green line: 9km constructed between 14 and 24 July 2025.
Yellow line: 6km constructed between 3 and 19 August 2025.
Blue line: 7km constructed between 5 May and 12 July 2025.
Red line: Currently 9km with construction ongoing between 13-27 August 2025.

The construction of the physical boundary deepens siege conditions and control over who and what can enter or leave the city, where about 300,000 people live.

Since the conflict erupted, RSF fighters and allied Arab militia in Darfur have been accused of targeting people from non-Arab ethnic groups.

Humanitarian organizations have been unable to access el-Fasher for months, and the remaining civilians are enduring constant bombardment, food scarcity, and difficulties in accessing medical care.

Recent reports indicate that many civilians trying to escape the city are being targeted and killed by RSF forces.

Adeeb Abdel Rahman Youssef, a former governor of central Darfur State, has appealed to the UN Security Council to protect the civilians of el-Fasher, stating, The civilian population in el-Fasher is paying the heaviest price. There is no one to protect them.