Shafaq News – El Fasher

At least 18 civilians, including women and children, were killed and more than 100 wounded in artillery strikes on residential areas of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, the Sudan Doctors Network reported on Tuesday.

In a statement, the network condemned the attack as a “massacre,” accusing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of systematically targeting civilians in violation of international and humanitarian law. It described the assault as part of a wider campaign of abuses in Darfur, labeling them “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

The network also faulted the international community, the United Nations, and the African Union for what it called a “disgraceful silence,” warning that over half a million civilians remain trapped in El Fasher under relentless shelling, starvation, and worsening humanitarian conditions.

The RSF has not yet commented on the allegations.

Local officials and community leaders in El Fasher have repeatedly accused the RSF of bombarding the city, which has been under siege since May 10, 2024. Despite mounting global pressure, fighting persists in the area, a critical hub for aid operations across Darfur.

Sudan’s conflict between the army and RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has killed more than 20,000 people according to UN figures, while an academic study by US universities estimates the toll closer to 130,000, with nearly 15 million displaced.