At least 25 people were reportedly killed and dozens wounded in an attack by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) this Saturday on the city of El-Fasher in western Darfur, local pro-democracy activists El-Fasher Resistance Committees shared on Facebook.
In their post, the Resistance Committees accused the militia of “indiscriminately shelling the city’s neighborhoods with heavy artillery.” The activists shared photos of homes, hospitals, and markets targeted in the shelling. The RSF has denied launching the assault and declined further comment.
Confirming the casualties, North Darfur State’s Health Ministry reported that over 25 people were killed and more than 50 injured in the attack, according to a statement made to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
This surge in violence follows weeks of a stalemate in El-Fasher, the last stronghold of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in the Darfur region. The conflict with the RSF, which started in April 2023, has exacerbated one of the world’s worsening humanitarian crises.
In May, UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned of a potential humanitarian catastrophe in the city, which houses a dense population of 1.8 million residents and internally displaced people. Türk called for an immediate ceasefire and resumption of negotiations, emphasizing the imminent risk of famine.
Since last year, various reports have highlighted the plight of civilians trapped in the conflict. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that over 10 million people are internally displaced, with many fleeing to neighboring countries like South Sudan and Egypt.
The conflict initially erupted due to a power struggle between SAF leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF figurehead Mohammed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo. Despite agreements to integrate the RSF into the SAF, tensions on leadership and integration processes led to a full-scale conflict.
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