SLM/A-TC leader announces plan to evacuate over 100,000 families from El Fasher
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April 19, 2025 (NAIROBI) – The leader of an armed group allied with the paramilitary RSF announced plans Saturday to evacuate over 100,000 families from the besieged North Darfur capital, El Fasher, calling it the only way to save civilian lives amid intensifying fighting.
Al-Hadi Idris, head of the Sudan Liberation Movement–Transitional Council (SLM/A-TC), said efforts were underway to move civilians from the city and surrounding displacement camps as clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied groups escalate.
“So far, we have evacuated more than 50,000 families from El Fasher city towards Tawila and Korma,” Idris told Sudan Tribune in an interview, referring to areas west of the city. “In the coming days, we will evacuate more than 100,000 families.”
Idris argued that fully evacuating the city was the “only hope” for civilians, accusing the warring parties of failing to agree on a ceasefire and using residents as human shields. He described the planned operation as potentially the “largest evacuation…in history from front-line areas.”Sudan adventure tours
The situation in El Fasher, the SAF’s last stronghold in the vast Darfur region, has deteriorated sharply after the RSF captured the nearby Zamzam camp and reportedly massed thousands of fighters for an assault on the city.
Idris, whose SLM-TC is part of the RSF-aligned “Founding Sudan” (Tasis) coalition planning a parallel government, blamed SAF-allied armed movements for blocking earlier proposals to demilitarize El Fasher. He asserted that evacuation to areas controlled by his group and the SLM faction led by Abdel Wahid Nur (SLM-AW) was now the sole option for civilian safety.
He confirmed some international aid groups were ready to assist evacuees upon reaching these designated safer zones. “We will not encourage people to stay in El Fasher… it has become a combat zone; they must leave immediately,” Idris urged.
Dismisses genocide fears, defends RSF
Asked why his group wasn’t demanding the RSF lift the siege, Idris stated that both the RSF and SAF were engaged in mutual attacks across the country. “Without an agreement to cease hostilities, we cannot compel a party to stop attacks,” he said, framing evacuation as the necessary alternative.
He strongly dismissed concerns that the RSF would commit genocide or ethnic cleansing if it captured El Fasher, asserting the Tasis coalition “will not allow any crime to be committed.”
Idris also denied SLM-TC forces participated in the recent attack on Zamzam camp, claiming his troops were positioned 15km away from El Fasher, solely focused on assisting civilians evacuated with RSF help.
Parallel government plans advance
Idris confirmed the Tasis alliance – comprising the RSF, SLM-TC, SPLM-N, National Umma Party, and other groups – is close to announcing a parallel government from within Sudan.
He portrayed the planned administration as a “government of peace” necessitated by the failures of the “de facto authority” in Port Sudan, which he accused of neglecting citizens, restricting services like exams and currency, and targeting people based on ethnicity via discriminatory laws.
Idris denied the move sought to divide Sudan, instead accusing the Port Sudan government of causing the country’s fragmentation. He blamed Sudan’s Islamist Movement for igniting the war by influencing SAF elements to derail a pre-war political process.
Rejects UAE complaint
The SLM-TC leader dismissed the Port Sudan government’s complaint against the United Arab Emirates at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as legally unfounded political theatre. The complaint accuses the UAE of supporting the RSF, allegedly contributing to genocide in West Darfur.
Idris questioned the legal basis, noting the ICJ primarily handles state disputes like borders, which Sudan and the UAE do not share. He asked why Port Sudan hadn’t severed diplomatic ties if its accusations were serious, and highlighted the UAE’s significant humanitarian aid to Sudanese refugees.
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