North Darfur: At least nine dead, 17 wounded in RSF shelling

Shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, killed at least nine civilians and injured 17 on Sunday, according to the Sudanese Armed Forces’ Sixth Infantry Division (SAF).

Reports also indicate that the RSF also attacked El Obeid, North Kordofan, during yesterday’s Eid El Fitr, killing a child and injuring eight others.

The Sudanese Air Force repelled an RSF ground assault on El Fasher, destroying four military vehicles and killing dozens of RSF fighters. Airstrikes targeted a supply convoy, destroying 12 RSF combat vehicles and forcing the paramilitary group to retreat.

Five displaced people were seriously injured when the SAF bombed the Shangil Tobaya camp in North Darfur on Saturday evening.

The General Coordination of Camps for Displaced Persons and Refugees accused the SAF of targeting infrastructure and homes. Radio Dabanga was unable to reach the SAF for comment.

Last week, the SAF warplanes bombed the weekly market in North Darfur’s Tora area, close to El Fasher. Reports indicated that dozens were wounded and killed in the airstrike, with some metrics the number of dead is in the hundreds.

Maj Gen Ahmed Elkhader Saleh, commander of the Sixth Infantry Division, vowed to break the RSF siege of El Fasher, adding that “victory was looming on the horizon”.

El Fasher has been embroiled in conflict since May last year, with the RSF tightening its siege in a bid to capture the last government-controlled stronghold in Darfur.

The fighting has displaced most of the city’s population and caused widespread destruction to infrastructure, including to hospitals and water sources.