New York, October 1, 2025—In Sudan’s vast western region of Darfur, journalists in El-Fasher are trapped under siege, enduring violence, hunger, and relentless bombardment alongside the people whose lives they report on.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group that evolved from the notorious Janjaweed militias accused of atrocities in earlier Darfur conflicts, have been fighting the Sudanese army for control of Sudan since April 2023. In May 2024, they encircled the city, seeking to take control of the last major urban center in Darfur still under government control.