Rapid Support Forces Attack El Fasher

SadaNews - Sudanese military sources said today, Monday, that the Rapid Support Forces have begun a three-pronged attack on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.

This attack coincides with the intensification of the Rapid Support Forces' assaults to capture the city, which they have besieged for a long time, amid reports of casualties, particularly due to artillery shelling.

Last Tuesday, the "Coordination of Resistance Committees" in El Fasher accused the Rapid Support Forces of killing six civilians and injuring more than 24 others due to artillery shelling, stating in a statement that the Rapid Support Forces are waging war against the hungry and the weak.

Military sources had reported last Tuesday that the Rapid Support Forces targeted displacement shelters and a food distribution center in El Fasher with heavy artillery.

In contrast, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Sudan reported that the sixth infantry division of the Sudanese Army ambushed a group of Rapid Support troops, causing them "losses in lives and equipment."

The Coordination of Resistance Committees in El Fasher reported the death of six civilians and injuries to over 24 others as a result of an attack launched by the Rapid Support Forces that targeted the city yesterday, Tuesday.

The Resistance Committees accused the Rapid Support Forces in a statement of declaring war on the hungry, the weak, and public facilities in El Fasher.

Hemeti: I Will Return to Khartoum

For his part, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo "Hemeti," yesterday, Sunday, accused the Sudanese army of planning the current war in Sudan for the past four years.

Hemeti added that the issue of integrating the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan had been agreed upon, and that those he described as Islamists attempted to obstruct the framework agreement by igniting war in the country, as he put it, and he threatened to return again to the capital, Khartoum.

These developments come amid a continuous military escalation for over a year, where El Fasher is witnessing a suffocating siege and a worsening humanitarian crisis. International reports have warned of plans for wide-scale attacks using drones that could increase civilian suffering and exacerbate the humanitarian disaster in Darfur.

Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have been engaged in a war that has resulted in the deaths of more than 20,000 people and the displacement and refugee status of around 15 million, according to the United Nations and local authorities.