El Fasher clashes continue as Sudan’s RSF rejects UN truce

Renewed artillery strikes rocked El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, this morning, as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rejected a UN-proposed humanitarian truce. The escalation comes amid reports of hundreds of children succumbing to malnutrition and soaring commodity prices.

The RSF released video footage allegedly showing its forces in control of El Fasher city centre, including the area around El Tijaniya Mosque. However, military sources aligned with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudanese Joint Forces (SJF)* said they had “successfully repelled” a major RSF attack launched from the southern part of the city. Today’s violence follows an artillery attack that killed at least three people at the city’s livestock market yesterday.

The humanitarian situation in the besieged city has reached critical levels. The Sudan Doctors Network reported yesterday that 239 children have died from malnutrition in El Fasher since January.

The tight siege imposed by the RSF has caused a significant spike in commodity prices, with residents increasingly reliant on scarce cash and banking apps such as Bankak. The price of a quarter sack of millet has soared to 160,000 Sudanese Pounds (SDG), while a kilo of sugar now costs SDG 100,000. The price for a single can of diesel has reached SDG 2 million.

Truce rejected

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have rejected a proposed humanitarian truce in El Fasher, accusing the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of initiating the conflict and using ceasefire talks to resupply their troops. The RSF has denied receiving any official communication from the United Nations regarding a truce and dismissed any form of “partial” or “temporary” ceasefire.

El Basha Tabeig, advisor to RSF commander Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, stated on X: “Talking about a temporary humanitarian truce in El Fasher is a desperate attempt by El Burhan to bring ammunition and food supplies to his besieged militias inside the city, which is taking its last breaths after all their military attempts […] failed… This truce has nothing to do with humanitarian work.”

Tabeig called on international humanitarian organisations to coordinate directly with the Sudan Founding Alliance** (Tasees) and the RSF-backed Sudanese Agency for Relief and Humanitarian Operations (SARHO), bypassing what he described as a “booby-trapped truce.”

Meanwhile, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC), led by El Hadi Idris and allied with the RSF, declared El Fasher a military operations zone. The movement urged all civilians remaining in the city and surrounding camps to evacuate immediately towards areas under its control, such as Korma and Ain Siro, in coordination with Tasees. The SLM-TC also called on the UN to direct humanitarian aid to these areas, as well as to Tawila, Kutum, Kabkabiya, and Jebel Marra.

The RSF’s response follows an announcement earlier this week by the Transitional Sovereignty Council that its chair Abdelfattah El Burhan had agreed to a truce proposed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. The proposal called for a seven-day ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians in El Fasher, where heavy fighting has displaced thousands.

Darfur Governor Minni Minawi welcomed the initiative, affirming the government’s full and unconditional support for the truce. “We call on the United Nations and humanitarian organisations to fulfil their duties in this regard. On the other hand, the RSF must stop treacherous methods, such as those that occurred in the Zamzam camp for the displaced and adhere to the UN resolution calling for an end to the siege of El Fasher.”

*The Sudanese Joint Force is made up of fighters from the Sudan Liberation Movement faction headed by Darfur Governor Minni Minawi (SLM-MM), the JEM faction led by Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim (JEM-JI), and several small rebel groups. These movements formed the Darfur Joint Force in June 2022 as agreed in the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement, to protect the people of Darfur. They renounced their neutrality in November last year and are now fighting against the RSF alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).