Eight innocent civilians were killed when Sudan’s paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), bombed a bunker where dozens of people were hiding. This happened late Tuesday night in El-Fasher, a city in the Darfur region, according to a local doctor who spoke anonymously to AFP.
The doctor, working at El-Fasher Teaching Hospital—one of the last hospitals still operating in the area—said that RSF used a drone to carry out the attack. Health workers in the city are struggling to do their jobs, using satellite internet because regular communication lines are down.
El-Fasher is the capital of North Darfur and the only major city in the region not controlled by RSF. The city has been surrounded by RSF forces since May last year. RSF has been trying hard to capture El-Fasher, especially after losing control of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, to the army in March.
An eyewitness told AFP that many people were sheltering in the bunker that was hit. Local resistance groups also said RSF continued to shell the city with artillery on Wednesday.
The war between RSF and the Sudanese army began in April 2023 and has caused massive destruction across Sudan. Tens of thousands of people have died, and millions have been forced to leave their homes. Sudan now has the world’s biggest hunger and displacement crisis.
Most of Darfur is now under RSF control, and it’s difficult for journalists and aid groups to report what’s happening there. In El-Fasher, about one million people are facing extreme hardship. There is almost no access to food, clean water, or healthcare. Due to fuel shortages, important services have stopped working.
The United Nations recently reported that nearly 40% of children under five in El-Fasher are suffering from acute malnutrition. About 11% are in severe condition. Aid agencies say many people are starving, but an official famine can’t be declared because there’s not enough data.
Since the conflict began, around 780,000 people have been forced to flee El-Fasher and nearby areas. Just in April and May this year, 500,000 people were displaced due to RSF attacks.
Sudan is now facing the worst internal displacement crisis in the world, with 10 million people forced from their homes. Almost 20% of them are from North Darfur alone.
