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

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