[24][25] Users on Facebook Live and Twitter documented the Sudanese Air Force flying above the city, and striking the RSF targets.

[26] The history of conflicts in Sudan has consisted of foreign invasions and resistance, ethnic tensions, religious disputes, and competition over resources.

[32] Approximately 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million forcibly displaced in the early part of the Darfur conflict; the intensity of the violence later declined.

[40] The RSF quickly began to enlist Darfur's Arab tribes to expand its ranks and gain the upper hand in the area.

Together, the RSF and its allies quickly overran large parts and Darfur, and began to expel or outright massacre non-Arabs.

According to security analyst Andrew McGregor, the RSF operations in Darfur appeared to aim at "ethnically cleans[ing] the region of its indigenous Black population".

Five major armed groups formed the Darfur Joint Protection Force; the alliance included the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) under Gibril Ibrahim, the Sudan Liberation Army faction (SLA-MM) of Darfur Governor Minni Minawi, and the Gathering of Sudan Liberation Forces under al-Tahir Hajar.

At al-Fashir, the SAF-Joint Protection Force garrison received support by another rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army's al-Nur faction (SLA-AW).

Al-Fashir still remained under control of the Joint Protection Force, but it was no longer receiving supplies from the SAF-held areas in central Sudan, causing food, fuel, and medicines shortages.

[49] It has been alleged that the RSF has received foreign support in Darfur, most notably at the hands of the United Arab Emirates and the Wagner Group.