After 18 months of surviving forced starvation and shelling by the paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the regional capital and symbolic battleground of Al Fashir is on the verge of full military collapse.

On Sunday, the RSF advanced into the heart of the city and captured the 6th Infantry Division of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in central Al Fashir after three days of intensified ground battles.

In propaganda videos shared on RSF social media channels, troops waved their assault rifles in the yard of the garrison and celebrated victory in front of a bullet-ridden wall marked with an emblem of the Sudanese military.

They claim to have taken over the city and completed their military control of the Darfur region.

Sudanese army soldiers, civilian resistance fighters and first responders have denounced the RSF’s declaration of full victory and say battles are ongoing to fend off the city’s capture.

A wedge of military-held territory remains on the western edge of Al Fashir where remaining civilians are squeezed in with troops fighting to push outwards and regain key sites lost to the RSF.

“I left because all the residents and forces have been intensely concentrated in Al-Daraja Owla neighbourhood. It was too much and people started fleeing,” said aid worker and resident Adam al Rashid, who left Al Fashir on Saturday.

“The RSF was moving people out and attacking others. So many have been killed by gunfire and shelling from battles. It was clear this was coming. The RSF has been advancing on the 6th infantry division for three days.”

Around 5,000 people have fled Al Fashir since 23 October, according to initial assessments by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Videos shared on RSF channels show masses fleeing on foot – some filmed by an RSF surveillance drone scattered across a field and others left in long, sombre queues as RSF soldiers yelled at them from inside their trucks.

Other videos show men of fighting age rounded up and kneeling on the ground as RSF troops yell at them, “You are all army”.

Sources tell Sky News that those fleeing are facing mass arrests and extra-judicial killings on their way out.

There is currently a telecommunications blackout in Al Fashir. An ominous sign that has marked previous takeovers by the paramilitary group, including the city of Al Geneina where the United Nations (UN) accused the RSF of killing 10,000 to 15,000 people.

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“I am very concerned about the life of my relatives, the journalists and the doctors inside the city of Al Fashir. All of us saw what happened in Al Geneina and we are scared that will happen in Al Fashir too,” said Mohamed Zakarea, a journalist from Al Fashir who fled the city a year ago after five months of the RSF siege.

“The people are waiting for the Sudanese army – for the war planes and the air drops. If all of this doesn’t happen, then I’m afraid to say that Al Fashir is falling.”

A US warship has docked in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, as US President Donald Trump increases military pressure on Venezuela.

The guided missile destroyer, USS Gravely, is in addition to the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford, which is moving closer to Venezuela.

President Trump has accused the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, of being the leader of an organised crime gang but has not offered any evidence.

President Maduro has called the deployment of warships an attempt by the US government to “invent a new eternal war” against his country.

Government officials in Trinidad and Tobago and from the US said the warship will remain in Trinidad until Thursday for training exercises.

Venezuela’s government has since issued a statement condemning what it called a military provocation by Trinidad and Tobago and the US.

The country claimed it captured a group of mercenaries “with direct information of the American intelligence agency” who intended to carry out a false flag attack in the region.

The statement from vice president Delcy Rodriguez did not give any details or evidence of the alleged false flag attack.

Jenifer Neidhart de Ortiz, the US Embassy’s charge d’affaires, said the exercises sought to “address shared threats like transnational crime and build resilience through training, humanitarian missions, and security efforts”.

A senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the move was only recently scheduled.

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The presence of the ship is controversial for some.

“This is a warship in Trinidad, which will be anchored here for several days just miles off Venezuela when there’s a threat of war,” said David Abdulah, leader of the Movement for Social Justice political party.

“That’s an abomination.”

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Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is a supporter of the deadly US strikes on suspected drug boats in waters off Venezuela.

On Friday, the US secretary of war claimed six “narco-terrorists” had been killed in a strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea.

Trump may have another motive

Stuart Ramsay

Chief correspondent

The question is simple – is this really all about President Trump’s war on drugs in South America?

I doubt it. A sledgehammer to crack a nut that isn’t even there.

There are a few reasons to doubt the American government’s stated aim of wiping out these so-called “narco terrorist” gangs threatening the US from Venezuela, even after one takes out of the equation the sort of equipment the military is deploying – which isn’t what they would need for effective drug smuggling interdiction.

While the president acknowledges that the synthetic opioid fentanyl is a huge killer in the US (which it is) and is supplied by drug gangs (which it is), to blame Venezuela for fentanyl production is simply incorrect.

Mexican cartels produce fentanyl with precursors largely supplied from China, and it is from Mexico – America’s neighbour – that the fentanyl is smuggled directly into the US across its southern border.

Venezuela isn’t involved in this fentanyl business in any meaningful way, and I know this because I have reported from the Sinaloa cartel’s fentanyl production labs in Mexico.

Read the full analysis here

Pete Hegseth said his military had bombed a vessel, which he claimed was operated by Tren de Aragua – a Venezuelan gang that was designated a terror group by Washington in February.

Speaking during a White House news conference last week, Donald Trump argued the campaign against suspected smugglers from Venezuela would help tackle the opioid crisis in the US.

“Every boat that we knock out, we save 25,000 American lives. So every time you see a boat, and you feel badly you say, ‘Wow, that’s rough’. It is rough, but if you lose three people and save 25,000 people,” he said.

Some Democratic politicians have expressed concerns that the strikes risk dragging the US into a war with Venezuela because of their proximity to the South American country’s coast.

Others have condemned the attacks as extrajudicial killings that would not stand up in a court of law.

The family of a young boy who was thrown from the 10th floor of the Tate Modern building says that after six “courageous” years, he is beginning to run, cycle, jump and swim.

The French youngster, who was six at the time of the attack, survived the 100ft (30m) fall but suffered life-changing injuries, including a bleed on the brain and broken bones.

His attacker, autistic teenager Jonty Bravery, was living in supported accommodation in 2019 but was allowed out unsupervised when he targeted the boy.

He was convicted of attempted murder in 2020 and jailed for 15 years.

‘Our little knight’

The boy, affectionately named “our little knight” by his family, spent months in intensive care and has surprised experts with his progress.

A GoFundMe page set up by a British supporter of the family said the boy and his father had been working towards a tricycle ride to the sea “a few kilometres” from their house.

It said: “As we live a few kilometers from the sea, they had set their final goal of having a picnic at the beach and then returning.

“After several progressive training sessions, they finally completed their 2.5 hour journey. They returned exhausted but delighted. Mission accomplished!”

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‘Incredible achievement’

The update went on: “Our son also continues to gain cognitive endurance. His memory skills are still very limited, but they are functional and still improving, so he is acquiring a general knowledge at his own pace, which increasingly allows him to be included with other children.

“Our little knight had long set himself the goal of being able to run, jump, and swim again. He can’t do it like other children his age, of course, but we can no longer describe what he does in any other way than by saying it’s running, jumping, and swimming.

“It’s different – only over a few metres or a very small height – but it’s an incredible achievement.”

Big operation

A fundraising drive for the boy has raised almost half a million pounds with more than 14,000 donations.

His family said thanks to all his progress, he has found a place at his local school and is able to keep up with the subjects he attends around his rehabilitation sessions.

In early 2026, he will need another operation where he will be “immobilised” for nearly two months.

“The coming months promise to be busy, but we will continue to devote all our energy to our little knight, who is always so courageous.”