The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) declared a decisive victory over the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following a significant RSF assault on El Fasher on Thursday. According to an army spokesman, Nabil Abdallah, the RSF was repelled with heavy casualties and forced to retreat, abandoning “dozens of vehicles and hundreds of their fallen comrades.”
In a separate statement, joint force spokesman Ahmed Hussein Mustafa confirmed the victory, stating that the RSF withdrew due to significant losses. The RSF’s attack on El Fasher marks a recent escalation in defiance of international appeals for a ceasefire. This escalation came just one day after U.S. President Joe Biden urged all parties to halt fighting in the besieged city.
Witnesses reported intense airstrikes and shelling throughout Thursday, with the southeast Al-Wahda neighborhood being the epicenter of the conflict. The attacks caused damage to homes and resulted in civilian casualties.
The SAF’s air force targeted RSF positions in southeast El Fasher with multiple airstrikes, followed by loud explosions and plumes of smoke rising into the sky. In the afternoon, the RSF attempted another ground offensive, but the army and its allies successfully repelled them.
As of now, the RSF has not responded to the army’s claims. The clashes in El Fasher are part of the broader conflict that erupted in April between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which has so far resulted in thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions of people.