13 Journalists, Others Missing In Sudan Amid RSF Capture Of El-Fasher

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has issued a statement expressing deep alarm over the disappearance of at least 13 journalists and media workers in Sudan's El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, following its capture by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on October 26, 2025. The city had been under an 18-month siege, and the RSF's seizure has triggered reports of widespread violence, including abductions, killings, and sexual assaults.

CPJ received credible reports from local rights groups indicating that the 13 journalists went missing over the weekend after the RSF announced full control of El-Fasher. As of November 3, 2025, CPJ has verified the safe relocation of five journalists, Abdelmajeed Al-Ahnaf, Mohamed Ahmed Nazar, Mohamed Suleiman Taher Shuaib, Fayhaa Mohamed el-Helw, and Mohy Eldin Al-Sahhaf—who fled the city. The whereabouts of the remaining eight, Khalid Abu Warqa, Magdi Youssef, Mohamed Al-Refaey, Taj Al-Sir Ahmed Suleiman, Mohamed Hussein Shalabi, Atta Mohamed, and Ismail Mohamed Ahmed, remain unknown amid ongoing hostilities.

The Darfur Women Journalists Forum informed CPJ that RSF fighters raped at least three female journalists during the offensive. This incident is part of a documented pattern of sexual violence against female journalists and civilians in the conflict zone. The Sudanese government has accused the RSF of killing up to 2,000 civilians over two days in El-Fasher, including abductions of those attempting to flee. An estimated 260,000 civilians, half of them children, remain trapped in the city.

A near-total communications blackout across large parts of North Darfur has been imposed, blocking independent verification and isolating affected communities. CPJ contacted the RSF via its website for comment but received no response. The organization has previously documented RSF attacks on journalists in El-Fasher and Sudan-wide, including detentions, assaults, and killings.

Since the war between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces began on April 15, 2023, CPJ research shows the RSF has killed at least 14 journalists, with dozens more detained, assaulted, raped, or disappeared. Both the RSF and Sudanese army have been accused of human rights violations against the press, such as arbitrary detentions and indiscriminate airstrikes.