When the Sudanese city of El Fasher fell to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in late October, the group gained control of the entire Darfur region and areas to the south-west.

Their rivals, the Sudanese armed forces, control the capital Khartoum, as well as the northern, eastern and central areas of the country. The fear now is that Sudan could be divided, as the fighting rages on for a third year.

Amid the violence, it is the civilians who suffer most. Mass atrocities have been reported that may amount to war crimes. Famine has been declared in parts of the country, while millions have been displaced by the conflict.

This episode of Beyond the Headlines documents the humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of the RSF taking control of El Fasher, as civilians seek safety. We hear from Shashwat Saraf, Sudan country director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, and ask The National’s Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi what a diplomatic end to the conflict could look like.