Sudan’s Paramilitary RSF Attacks Displacement Camp Near el-Fasher, Killing 40

Sudan’s Paramilitary RSF Attacks Displacement Camp Near el-Fasher, Killing 40
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Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched attacks Monday on the Abu Shouk displacement camp outside el-Fasher, North Darfur, killing 40 people and injuring at least 19, Arab News reported. The RSF, engaged in conflict with Sudan’s military, targeted residents inside their homes in the camp, which houses around 450,000 displaced people and suffers from severe famine conditions.

The Emergency Response Rooms group and the local Resistance Committees confirmed the attacks, describing them as horrific violations against defenseless civilians. Satellite imagery analyzed by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab showed 40 RSF vehicles in the camp’s northwest neighborhoods and documented RSF forces shooting at fleeing people and using ethnic slurs. Additional imagery indicated RSF roadblocks preventing escapes from el-Fasher.

The Sudanese army reported clashes with RSF fighters in el-Fasher on Monday, claiming to have repelled the attack and destroyed or captured numerous RSF vehicles. The RSF, however, claimed advances and seizure of military equipment.

In nearby North Kordofan, RSF fighting displaced over 3,000 families from 66 villages, with reports of looting and theft. The UN warns of an extreme humanitarian crisis, with over 60 malnutrition-related deaths in el-Fasher last week, mostly women and children. The ongoing civil war has killed over 40,000 and displaced up to 12 million since April 2023.