Civilian activist Mouawia had just escaped el-Fasher when he heard the RSF had taken the city.
When Mouawia heard the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group had overrun the western city of el-Fasher after besieging it for most of the two and a half years of war with Sudan’s army, he was devastated.
Speaking to Al Jazeera over the phone on Sunday, the activist’s voice broke as he spoke of his fear for the civilians still trapped there and of not knowing if he would ever be able to return to his city.
“It feels like we’ve lost everything,” the 31-year-old said from the nearby town of Tawila. “I just keep thinking of the people still there – the children, the families – and I can’t stop worrying.”
The RSF announced its takeover of el-Fasher on Sunday after it said it took the army’s last garrison in the city, belonging to the Sixth Armoured Division.
It had besieged the capital of North Darfur state for 18 months, attacking people and blocking all aid from entering, engineering a famine that has taken hold for months.
Escape
Mouawia, who refused to give his full name for fear of RSF retaliation, left el-Fasher in early October, covering the roughly 60km (37 miles) to Tawila over several days by cart and walking.
He had decided to leave after realising he would
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