Twenty people were killed in an artillery shelling by the “Rapid Support Forces” on a displacement camp in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in western Sudan, according to local committees.
The Al-Fasher Resistance Committees Coordination released a brief statement on Facebook Monday evening, stating, “According to the information we have received so far about the extent of the damage among the citizens at the Abu Shouk displacement camp, there are more than 20 martyrs and 32 injured,” as reported by Agence France-Presse.
The Coordination attributed the cause to “deliberate shelling by the Rapid Support Forces militias on the camp’s market and field.”
Since April 2023, Sudan has witnessed an intense war between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the “Rapid Support Forces” led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. El Fasher is the only capital of the five Darfur states that has not been controlled by the Rapid Support Forces and has remained relatively safe from fighting for a long period. The city, which hosts many refugees, has served as a humanitarian hub for the vast region threatened by famine.
However, fierce fighting erupted on May 10, raising concerns about a new “worrying” shift in the conflict, according to the United Nations. In June, the UN Security Council called for an end to the “siege” of El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces.
The US special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, warned on Friday of escalating violence between the warring parties, following peace talks hosted by Switzerland under the auspices of Washington. He noted that the violence last week “resulted in the death of more than 100 civilians” in several cities, including El Fasher.
As the fighting intensifies, the country is also experiencing a season of heavy rains and floods, which have so far killed 132 people and completely destroyed more than 12,400 homes, according to the Sudanese Ministry of Health.
The war in Sudan has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. While the actual toll of the conflict is unclear, estimates suggest it could be as high as “150,000,” according to Perriello.
More than ten million people have been displaced within Sudan or have fled to neighboring countries since the outbreak of hostilities, according to UN statistics. The fighting has caused widespread destruction of the country’s infrastructure, with more than three-quarters of health facilities going out of service.
