Sudan’s El Fasher: 24 civilians killed in RSF shelling amid ongoing siege
Shafaq News – El Fasher
At least 24 civilians were killed and 55 others wounded, including women, in an artillery strike on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, the Sudan Doctors Network reported on Thursday.
In a statement, the network said the shelling hit the central market and Awlad Al Reef neighborhood, describing the incident as “another massacre” and accusing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing war crimes and genocide against civilians. It warned that El Fasher has been under a siege for more than a year, facing acute shortages of food, medicine, and essential services.
The network held the international community, the UN Security Council, and the African Union responsible for what it called “silence and inaction” in the face of continued violations, pressing for urgent measures to halt the shelling, end the siege, and pressure the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leadership to stop the “systematic genocide and deliberate starvation.”
The RSF has not commented on the accusations.
Local authorities and popular committees in El Fasher have repeatedly blamed the RSF for artillery strikes and ongoing attacks on the city, which has been besieged since May 10, 2024. Despite international warnings, fighting continues in the area, which serves as a key hub for humanitarian operations across all five Darfur states.
Since April 2023, Sudan’s army and the RSF have been locked in a brutal war that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced or forced nearly 15 million to flee, according to the United Nations. A separate study conducted by US universities estimated the death toll at around 130,000.
