Yale HRL: RSF erect 31 km ‘kill box’ berm in North Darfur

A research report issued by the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) at Yale University have found that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have built more than 31 kilometres of earthen walls around North Darfur’s capital of El Fasher.

In their report published on Thursday, the laboratory said that satellite imagery showed the RSF began constructing the berms on May 9 2025, with work still ongoing as of August 27. About 22 kilometres of barricades form a semicircle from the west to the north of the city, while a further nine kilometres were added to the east along the main road.

According to the report, these fortifications allow the RSF to control population movements, block the entry of food and medicine, and decide who can leave or remain trapped in the city.

The laboratory described the situation as the creation of a “kill box” around El Fasher, warning that any attempt at mass civilian escape could be met with deadly force.

The report also identified munition impacts at the El Fasher Water Provision Authority in the Awlad El Rif neighbourhood. The facility, considered critical for supplying drinking water to the city, remains operational but lies less than one kilometre from the airport, making it vulnerable to further attacks.

The laboratory stressed that the berms deepen the 17-month siege of El Fasher, where residents already face severe shortages of food, medicine, and basic supplies, alongside reports of harassment, robbery, abductions, and extrajudicial executions by RSF forces.

Read full report here: Human Security Alert: RSF Walls-In El-Fasher’s Population to Prevent Escape