12 killed as fighting continues unabated in Darfur

El Fasher Resistance Committees reported that 10 people were killed, and 20 wounded, after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled the North Darfur capital today. In South Darfur, two people were killed yesterday when an airstrike hit a school sheltering displaced people in the state capital, Nyala.

In a statement seen by Radio Dabanga, the committee said the RSF targeted the MSF-supported Saudi Hospital in El Fasher this morning, causing 10 deaths and 20 injuries. The figures are preliminary, and the final toll is expected to rise, according to the statement.

A listener in El Fasher confirmed that shells struck parts of the city this morning, including areas near the Saudi Hospital and Zamzam camp for displaced people.

Over the past two weeks, the RSF has repeatedly shelled Zamzam camp, which houses about one million displaced people, forcing many residents to flee. Heavy shelling last week in El Fasher killed at least 80 people, with some estimates suggesting nearly 200 people killed.

Also this morning, the Sudanese Air Force launched airstrikes on RSF positions in northern El Fasher.

A source within the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), speaking anonymously, confirmed that the Sudanese Air Force targeted RSF bases north and east of the city. They added that the RSF shelled the SAF Sixth Infantry Division headquarters.

Since May, El Fasher has witnessed recurrent clashes between the SAF and the allied Sudanese Joint Force, and the RSF, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries, and extensive infrastructure damage.

In June, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding that the RSF lift their siege of El Fasher, cease hostilities, and withdraw forces threatening civilian safety.

South Darfur

Two people were killed, and 21 others -including children- were injured, when warplanes bombed Nyala Secondary School in the South Darfur capital yesterday evening. Some people remain trapped under the rubble, local sources said.

The airstrike occurred at 21.00, according to Mohamed Hashim, the director of Baladna, a social development organisation in Nyala. “The shelter housed 100 families who had fled El Fasher to escape ongoing violence”, adding that the shelling also damaged a home and a nearby workshop.

Minister of Social Affairs Hafiz El Saleh, who is a member of the RSF-appointed civilian administration in South Darfur*, told Radio Dabanga that many victims were children. Mohamed Hasan, head of civilian administration, condemned the bombing of the shelter and urged the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone across Sudan to protect civilians.

Other sources reported that airstrikes targeted Nyala International Airport and other neighbourhoods, though detailed information about casualties and losses remains unclear.

Yesterday’s airstrike marked the fourth in Nyala this week. SAF warplanes have previously targeted the airport and other locations in the city.

* The Native Administration was instituted by British colonial authorities seeking a pragmatic system of governance that allowed for effective control with limited oversight by the state. The state-appointed tribal leaders were also responsible for executing policies, collecting taxes, and mobilising labour on behalf of the central government. The Native Administration during the 30-year rule of dictator Omar Al Bashir reportedly did not represent the real community leaders.

After the outbreak of the war with the Sudanese army in April 2023, the RSF occupied Khartoum, four of the five Darfur states, parts of the three Kordofan states, and El Gezira, where they, except for the Sudanese capital, appointed native administration leaders who are to deal with the management of these states.