A humanitarian crisis has been triggered by the relentless shelling of El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s Darfur province, by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). For five consecutive months, the city has endured a deadly barrage of artillery fire, leaving its infrastructure in ruins and dozens of people dead.
The RSF launched a major offensive against El Fasher in May, aiming to seize control of the strategically vital city. Since April 2023, the RSF and the Sudanese army have been locked in a power struggle. Although the death of RSF commander Ali Yaqoub in June led to a temporary lull in the assault, fighting escalated once again in September.
On Friday, the North Darfur state authority reported that in the past two days alone, at least 62 people were killed, with many others injured. It condemned the RSF’s indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas, which were carried out using weapons that are internationally prohibited.
A government statement declared that the RSF violated civilian rights by shelling residential neighborhoods, markets, hospitals, warehouses, and humanitarian organization headquarters. On Thursday and Friday, heavy artillery fire from the RSF targeted various parts of El Fasher, resulting in over sixty-two deaths and numerous injuries.
Since Thursday, the RSF has intensified its bombardment, focusing on markets, residential zones, and shelters housing internally displaced people, using artillery and drones.
Some of the hardest-hit areas include the neighborhoods of Tambasi, Al-Radief, Al-Wadi, South Al-Thawra, and Al-Madraj. The livestock market and Al-Sanusi school, which is currently sheltering a large number of people fleeing the violence, have also been severely affected.