RSF launches consecutive assaults on North Darfur camp

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have intensified their offensive on the besieged city of El Fasher, North Darfur, launching violent assaults on Monday and Tuesday that left dozens dead and drew strong international condemnation.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Sixth Infantry Division said it repelled Tuesday’s RSF attack on the city’s southern and southwestern fronts, inflicting heavy losses in lives and equipment and burning or seizing combat vehicles. 

Army sources said RSF fighters advanced towards the livestock market before being pushed back east of Lafat Taqro.

Joint Forces reported sustained heavy shelling across El Fasher on Tuesday, with two major offensives from dawn to sunset and more than 200 drone sorties.

Tuesday’s assault came a day after RSF fighters stormed parts of Abu Shouk camp in northern El Fasher, killing at least 40 people and wounding 19, according to the camp’s Emergency Room. Victims included Sheikh Mohamed Suleiman, imam of the Naivasha Souk Mosque, and 70-year-old Eldouma Mohamed Ahmed.

In an emergency report published on Monday, satellite analysis by the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab corroborated reports of mass killings, reckless shooting inside homes, and executions in the streets.

The lab said over 40 RSF light vehicles were positioned in and around the Abu Shouk and Naivasha camps during Monday’s attack, blocking northern escape routes. Videos reportedly showed RSF fighters shooting wounded civilians and using racist language against prisoners from the Joint Force.

North Darfur Governor El Hafiz Bakhit said Monday’s fighting, the 227th RSF assault on El Fasher, lasted more than six hours and ended in what he called a decisive SAF victory. Darfur regional governor Minni Arko Minawi accused the UAE of backing RSF efforts to capture the city.

Abu Shouk camp, once home to thousands of survivors of the early-2000s Darfur genocide, has seen more than 80 per cent of its population flee amid escalating attacks. The Yale lab also documented RSF roadblocks north of El Fasher and the use of Emirati-made Spartan 2-MAV armoured vehicles in the assaults.

International condemnation

In a post on X yesterday, US presidential adviser for African affairs Massad Boulos accused the RSF of killing civilians in Abu Shouk and called for safe passage for those fleeing violence.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the international community “cannot ignore” the atrocities, stressing that camps for displaced people must never be targeted.

Acting UN humanitarian coordinator Sheldon Yett condemned the repeated strikes in a statement yesterday, calling the near-daily need to restate such condemnations “a tragedy in itself”.

Germany voiced shock at the “horrific” situation, warning that hundreds of thousands face famine if humanitarian access remains blocked. Berlin pledged to work with the UN and partners to push for a ceasefire and support aid deliveries.

UN officials have urged an immediate humanitarian truce in and around El Fasher to allow food, water, and medical supplies to reach civilians trapped by the siege.