The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched the “largest drone attack” on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, but the Sudanese army and its allies repelled it on Sunday.
After besieging El Fasher since April, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attempted to take the city in May with a number of attacks, but the army and its allies repulsed them.
According to combined forces leaders, the RSF and affiliated militias have launched about 131 attacks against the city. In addition to extensive destruction, the combat and RSF shelling have resulted in nearly 500,000 people being displaced and many civilian casualties.
The joint forces in Darfur spokesperson, Ahmed Hussein Mustafa, informed Sudan Tribune that “today, the defences of the joint forces and the army thwarted the largest drone attack carried out by the Rapid Support Forces on the city of El Fasher.”
According to him, about thirty drones were shot down by ground defenses; some of the drones carried 120mm and 85mm rounds, while others were reconnaissance drones with photographic equipment. He said that prior to being detected and brought down, the drones were flying above neighborhoods in the northeast.
According to Mustafa, the army destroyed about sixteen drones, while the combined forces destroyed fourteen.
The airstrikes are ongoing
Witnesses also told local media that warplanes were still hitting RSF positions in El Fasher’s eastern, northern, and southern regions.
The bombardment, which targeted moving and stationary targets in the eastern section of the city, which is primarily under RSF control, caused loud explosions, according to witnesses, and they also witnessed smoke rising early on Sunday morning.
The air force has increased its strikes on RSF-controlled cities in Darfur, Al Jazirah, Sennar, and Khartoum state throughout the last three weeks, resulting in a significant death toll.
Political parties, armed formations, and protest organizations have sharply criticized the ongoing airstrikes and demanded the establishment of a no-fly zone and an end to the targeting of civilians.