A paramilitary attack on a market in El-Fasher, Sudan, has left 18 people dead and dozens injured, according to a medical source, as the war between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army continues.
The RSF shelled the North Darfur state capital on Thursday evening, targeting residential neighborhoods and the market. The attack is part of an ongoing battle for control of El-Fasher, which has been under siege since May.
“We received last night at the hospital 18 dead,” a source at El-Fasher Teaching Hospital told AFP. The victims included those killed by severe shrapnel injuries and others who were burned, the source added.
El-Fasher, a city of two million, has seen relentless violence, with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for an immediate ceasefire after reports of a full-scale RSF assault on the city. The local resistance committee reported continued shelling on Friday morning, warning of worsening conditions for civilians.
Sudan’s conflict, now 17 months old, has claimed tens of thousands of lives. The World Health Organization estimates at least 20,000 fatalities, though U.S. envoy Tom Perriello suggested the number may be closer to 150,000.
More than half the people in this nation of 50 million are suffering from severe hunger, Reuters reported, adding that hundreds are estimated to be dying from starvation and hunger-related disease each day.
