RSF Shelling Kills 17 in Besieged Darfur City

RSF Shelling Kills 17 in Besieged Darfur City
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At least 17 civilians were killed and 25 injured after Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled the besieged city of El-Fasher in North Darfur on Saturday, Al Arabiya English reported. A medical source at a local hospital told AFP that the numbers only include those who reached the facility, as many others were buried by their families due to the ongoing security challenges.

The RSF, which has been battling the Sudanese army since April 2023, has had El-Fasher under siege since May of last year. According to a local resistance committee, the attack involved heavy artillery shelling across several residential neighborhoods. The bombardment began early Saturday and continued for several hours, making it one of the deadliest assaults on the city. The RSF also shelled the nearby Abu Shouk displacement camp, killing several civilians and injuring at least 20 people.

The fighting has contributed to what the United Nations calls the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis. The World Food Program (WFP) has warned that thousands of families trapped in El-Fasher are at “risk of starvation,” with staple food prices up to 460% higher than in other parts of Sudan. The humanitarian crisis is being compounded by a severe cholera outbreak, with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reporting nearly 100,000 infections and over 2,400 deaths in the past year.