Sudanese Journalist Emerges After 1,000 Days Cut Off From World During Darfur Siege

Sudanese journalist Muhammad Sulaiman Atim was trapped in the western city of al-Fashir when civil war erupted in Sudan in April 2023. The city in Darfur was besieged by fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group that completely cut the area off from the outside world for more than two years. The RSF destroyed all transmission towers in the region, leaving residents without internet or communication services. The militia finally captured the city in October 2024, after which they launched a campaign of violence against the population. Sudan's civil war began when fighting broke out between the regular army and the RSF paramilitary force, with the conflict particularly devastating the Darfur region in western Sudan, where ethnic violence and sieges have displaced millions of civilians.