A paramilitary attack on a market in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher has left 18 people dead, a medical source confirmed to AFP on Friday, following renewed appeals from world leaders to end the country’s ongoing conflict.
The attack, carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Thursday evening, also left dozens injured. Activists reported that the shelling by the paramilitaries is part of their ongoing struggle with the Sudanese army for control of the North Darfur state capital, now 17 months into Sudan’s civil war.
A source at El-Fasher Teaching Hospital, speaking anonymously for security reasons, said, “We received 18 dead last night, some with severe shrapnel injuries, others burned.”
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan, especially in El-Fasher, was discussed during the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week. U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, called for humanitarian pauses in conflict zones like El-Fasher and Khartoum, urging the warring parties to cease hostilities.
El-Fasher Teaching Hospital is one of the few remaining medical facilities still functioning in the city. Last weekend, reports of a “full-scale assault” by RSF prompted UN Secretary-General António Guterres to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Since May, the RSF has besieged El-Fasher, and famine has been declared in the nearby Zamzam refugee camp, home to over two million people. Shelling continued in residential areas and the market on Friday, according to local resistance committees.
These committees, composed of pro-democracy volunteers, provide essential aid to civilians trapped in the crossfire. They reported dozens of injuries from Thursday’s attack.
**Global Calls for Action**
The war in Sudan has claimed tens of thousands of lives. The World Health Organization estimates at least 20,000 deaths, while some reports suggest the death toll may be as high as 150,000. U.S. President Joe Biden expressed concern about the violence in El-Fasher and called on countries to halt arms supplies to both Sudanese Armed Forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Biden declared, “The world needs to stop arming the generals.”
On the sidelines of the assembly, Guterres met with Burhan to discuss the escalating violence and the potential for regional spillover, according to a UN statement.
The RSF, which evolved from the notorious Janjaweed militia, has been accused of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The region, roughly the size of France, is home to a quarter of Sudan’s population, including over half of its 10 million internally displaced people.
In a video released Thursday evening, Daglo rejected Burhan’s role as Sudan’s representative at the UN, claiming the RSF had formed a force to protect civilians and expressing openness to peace initiatives.
**Escalating Violence**
The conflict is not limited to Darfur. Airstrikes and shelling rocked Khartoum on Thursday as the army launched attacks on RSF positions across the city. Fighting also erupted in Al-Jazira state, just south of the capital, with both sides exchanging artillery and drone strikes.
The war has been marked by widespread human rights abuses, including summary executions, looting of aid, and systematic sexual violence, often committed by the RSF. A UN Women report published Thursday revealed that as of December, 6.7 million people in Sudan required services related to gender-based violence, a figure that has likely increased due to the ongoing conflict.
Sudan is currently facing what the UN has described as “the world’s largest hunger crisis,” with women and girls, especially those internally displaced, being the most vulnerable. The report warned that “women are eating least and last” as famine spreads.
Fears are growing that intensified fighting in Darfur could result in further atrocities, particularly targeting women, girls, displaced communities, and ethnic minorities. UN human rights chief Volker Turk cautioned on Thursday that, “If El-Fasher falls, there is a high risk of ethnically-targeted violations and abuses, including summary executions and sexual violence, by the RSF and allied militias.”
