Sudan Doctors Network: 24 Killed and 55 Injured in Artillery Shelling in El Fasher

SadaNews - Today, Thursday, the Sudan Doctors Network announced that 24 civilians were killed and 55 others injured, including 5 women, as a result of artillery shelling conducted by the Rapid Support Forces yesterday, Wednesday, on the city of El Fasher in North Darfur.

The network clarified that the shelling targeted the central market area and the Awlad Al-Rif neighborhood, describing what occurred as a "deliberate massacre" against unarmed civilians.

The network condemned in its statement in the strongest terms what it described as a "horrific crime," confirming that it adds to a series of "war crimes and genocide" that the residents of El Fasher have been subjected to for more than a year, amidst a suffocating siege and a severe shortage of food, medicine, and basic services.

It added that targeting residential neighborhoods densely populated with civilians represents a "flagrant violation of international and humanitarian laws," exposing the scale of the widespread violations attributed to the Rapid Support Forces against the city's residents who have insisted on staying in their homes.

The network held the international community, the Security Council, and the African Union "fully responsible for their silence and inability to confront these crimes," demanding urgent action to stop the shelling, lift the siege on El Fasher, and impose serious pressure on the Rapid Support Forces' leadership to halt what it considered "genocide and systematic starvation" against civilians.

Unprecedented Escalation

The city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, witnessed unprecedented escalation in confrontations between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces yesterday, Wednesday, as the city endured long hours of intense artillery and aerial bombardment targeting residential neighborhoods and markets, resulting in dozens of civilian casualties and injuries.

On the other hand, Sudanese army drones launched precise attacks on Rapid Support Forces gatherings in the eastern and southern axes of El Fasher, causing violent explosions, while a military helicopter from the army was seen flying over the city.

For its part, the Rapid Support Forces announced achieving "great victories" inside El Fasher, confirming its control over several residential neighborhoods in the southern axis and its approach to the headquarters of the sixth infantry division belonging to the army, as shown in videos published by its members.

These developments coincide with a continued escalation in El Fasher, where the city suffers from a suffocating siege after international efforts failed to reach a humanitarian truce that allows aid to reach it, being the main relief center in Darfur.

Source: Online websites