Shelling rocks El Fasher, Darfur wali calls for de-escalation

In the eastern El Wehda neighbourhood of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, at least one person was killed, and several others were injured, in an aerial bombardment yesterday morning. North Darfur Governor (Wali) Nimir Abdelrahman called upon the warring Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to allow people to leave the city for safer areas.

Listeners in El Fasher told Radio Dabanga that SAF warplanes had flown over the city since the early morning. Meanwhile, the RSF launched ground-based anti-aircraft missiles.

Videos depicted scenes of rescuers retrieving the remains of victims from the rubble. Witnesses said that shelling ceased in the late morning, leaving residents in a state of terror and panic. “Most shops in the markets are closed, and there is a noticeable decrease in pedestrian and vehicle traffic on the roads”, according to a local source.

A resident of El Fasher reported a significant displacement of people from the northern and eastern neighborhoods of the state capital “towards the southern areas and out of the city” to escape the ongoing clashes between the SAF and RSF.

On Wednesday morning, North Darfur Governor Nimir Abdelrahman called upon both conflicting parties to allow people to leave El Fasher for safer areas.

In an audio message from Juba, capital of South Sudan, Abdelrahman urged residents to stay away from military facilities. He regretted the renewed hostilities, expressing that he “aimed to avoid further fighting but, unfortunately, fighting resumed”.

The governor’s message to the conflicting parties was clear: ‘the city of El Fasher is densely populated with residents and displaced people, and we request that they are allowed to evacuate from areas that jeopardise their safety.

Minni Minawi, governor of the Darfur region, called Abdelrahman’s audio appeal “unsuccessful”. In a tweet posted to X (formerly Twitter) yesterday, Minawi noted that he was not informed of the attack by the North Darfur governor, but rather learned about it from the RSF.

Speaking directly to the paramilitary group, the Darfur governor stated: “To the brothers in RSF, I offer you valuable advice. […] You must avoid attacking El Fasher and El Geneina. These are the cities in which there is a displaced citizen on every inch, who received an undeserved penalty. As long as the negotiations are ongoing in Jeddah, you must focus on these talks”.

Minawi highlighted ongoing efforts to communicate with all parties to prevent a conflict within El Fasher, which he called “Darfur’s only artery”.

In September, Radio Dabanga sources reported that more than 500 displaced families from Nyala were sheltering in the Southern School for Boys in El Fasher, and were suffering from severe shortages of water and food.

El Fasher and its residents have faced difficult humanitarian conditions since the outbreak of war. The city grapples with dire sanitary conditions and faces an outbreak of malaria and typhoid. Heavy rains have left standing water across the region, which are an ideal breeding place for mosquitoes, the main vector for malaria and dengue fever.