An attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a market in El-Fasher, Sudan, has left 18 people dead and dozens injured, escalating the ongoing civil war that has devastated the country for 17 months.
A medical source at El-Fasher Teaching Hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns, told AFP on Friday that the hospital received 18 bodies following Thursday evening’s attack. Some victims were burned, while others suffered severe shrapnel injuries.
Local activists reported that the RSF’s shelling of the market also wounded dozens of civilians. The attack comes as the RSF and the regular Sudanese army continue to vie for control of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
The assault on El-Fasher, a city of two million people, has drawn international attention and condemnation. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an urgent ceasefire following reports of a “full-scale assault” by the RSF on the city last weekend.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, stressed the need for immediate action during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “We must compel the warring parties to accept humanitarian pauses in El-Fasher, Khartoum and other highly vulnerable areas,” she said on Wednesday.
The situation in El-Fasher has become increasingly dire since May, when the RSF began besieging the city. Famine has already been declared in the nearby Zamzam refugee camp, highlighting the severe humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region.
Local resistance committees, pro-democracy volunteer groups providing crucial aid to civilians, reported that RSF artillery shelling continued on Friday morning, targeting residential neighborhoods and the market.
The ongoing conflict has taken a devastating toll on Sudan. While the World Health Organization cites a death toll of at least 20,000, U.S. envoy Tom Perriello has mentioned estimates reaching as high as 150,000.
During the UN General Assembly, U.S. President Joe Biden urged all countries to cut off weapons supplies to the rival Sudanese generals: Sudanese Armed Forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. “The world needs to stop arming the generals,” Biden said, calling for an immediate end to the war.
UN Secretary-General Guterres met with General Burhan on the sidelines of the UN talks, expressing concern about the escalation of violence and the risk of regional spillover.
Both the RSF and the Sudanese army have been repeatedly accused of war crimes throughout the conflict. The international community continues to push for a resolution to the crisis, emphasizing the urgent need for humanitarian aid and a cessation of hostilities.
