Sudanese Armed Forces: ‘38 dead as RSF shell El Fasher’

New artillery attacks on Sunday and Monday, by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, has left at least 38 people dead, and many more wounded in what has become a siege, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) claim, further highlighting the plight of civilians trapped in the conflict.

The Abu Shouk Emergency Room, a vital lifeline for the displaced within El Fasher, has accused the RSF of shelling the camp with heavy artillery on Monday morning. The El Fasher Resistance Committees Coordination also indicated on its Facebook page that a large number of casualties [exact numbers are difficult to verify] were caused by artillery shelling, noting continued shelling on Monday evening affecting various parts of the city and camps. The emergency room reported two deaths, including a woman, and 10 injuries from ongoing artillery shelling on Monday. The number of victims in four areas of the camp has been recorded, but some numbers remain uncounted.

The command of the SAF Sixth Infantry Division announced on its Facebook page the destruction of two 120-caliber mortars belonging to the RSF, claiming this action was in response to RSF attacks on civilian areas. that the RSF launched artillery shelling on Monday morning, killing five civilians and wounding three others.

In its report for Sunday, the Sixth Division accused the RSF of launching “indiscriminate artillery shelling with a total of 300 shells, 33 civilian deaths, and dozens of wounded who were taken to hospitals and centres for treatment. On Saturday, the division accused the RSF of shelling various neighbourhoods of El Fasher city with five 120mm mortar shells, killing seven civilians and wounding three others, including two women. his pattern of shelling over several days indicates a sustained and dangerous escalation in the conflict’s impact on the civilian population.

The Sixth Infantry Division reported an attack on a residential building in the southeast, which resulted in the seizure of weapons and ammunition. They say they captured four RSF members. Radio Dabanga was unable to obtain immediate comment from the RSF, which has in the past consistently denied bombing and targeting civilians.

Previous reports from international monitoring groups have also documented allegations of indiscriminate attacks by both sides of the conflict, raising concerns about potential war crimes.

Ground offensive

As reported by Radio Dabanga earlier today, the escalating ground offensive and shelling in battles between the (Sudanese Armed Forces) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in and around the North Darfur capital of El Fasher over the past week, has resulted in a new humanitarian emergency, as ‘at least three million’ displaced civilians have fled westwards, and are overwhelming resources in the Tawila and Jebel Marra areas.

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, the stream of newly displaced, and mostly re-displaced people includes at least half a million former residents of Zamzam camp, which has been effectively obliterated. Untold hundreds have died, thousands injured, in what commentators have termed ‘the final catastrophe’ for the camp. Graphic evidence is provided in a report published last week by the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) at the Yale School of Public Health, with satellite imagery showing the effects of fires and destruction caused by artillery shelling and drone attacks.