A Boy's Harrowing Escape from El-Fasher Amid Sudan's Conflict

Sat Nov 01 2025 05:46:11 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Twelve-year-old Abdiwahab recounts his traumatic escape from the besieged city of El-Fasher as violence escalates amid Sudan's ongoing civil war. The United Nations reports alarming situations for displaced civilians.

This article shares the poignant story of twelve-year-old Abdiwahab, who fled El-Fasher as it fell to the Rapid Support Forces amid the turbulent civil war in Sudan. His journey to safety was filled with violence, and he arrived alone after being separated from his family. Humanitarian conditions in the surrounding areas are dire, with reports of assaults and mass displacements. The United Nations estimates that over 60,000 have evacuated amidst extreme violence, leaving countless others stranded in the city under horrific conditions.

Twelve-year-old Abdiwahab - not his real name - sobs as he recounts what happened to him as he escaped from the western Sudanese city of el-Fasher.

The young boy left el-Fasher on Sunday as it fell to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group that has been fighting a two-and-a-half-year civil war against the army.

In a video received by the BBC, his face reflects deep sorrow and fatigue, his voice low as he describes being assaulted 'many times' by RSF fighters.

Fearing reprisal attacks from RSF fighters, Abdiwahab had joined a wave of people - including some of his family - trying to get out.

The UN estimates that 60,000 have managed to get out of el-Fasher with many narrating horrendous stories of atrocities, including rape.

After three days of walking, Abdiwahab reached the relative safety of Tawila - an 80km (50-mile) journey - but he arrived on his own.

''I left the city with my father and siblings but because of the chaos we were separated, I came to Tawila alone,' he says on the video.

He was assaulted on the way and accused of being involved in espionage.

'I walked along the road, and on the road, [the RSF] caught me, many times. They beat me and hit me, saying, 'this little boy is a spy.'

This chimes with other accounts of how men and boys are especially at risk as they face arbitrary arrest, violence and summary execution.

Abdiwahab says that RSF fighters had already taken his mother and one of his sisters about a month ago, and he does not know if they are still alive.

In Tawila, Ali, a volunteer aid worker, filmed Abdiwahab's account and shared the horrors faced by new arrivals as they struggle with overwhelming conditions of terror and desperation.

Reports highlight critical issues faced by displaced persons, especially unaccompanied minors, who continue to arrive with tragic tales of loss and survival.