Drone strike kills 15 at market in el-Fasher, aid groups say
Attack adds to humanitarian crisis as fighting intensifies in Darfur's last RSF stronghold
A drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces struck a busy market in el-Fasher, the capital of Sudan's North Darfur, killing 15 people and wounding 12, aid workers and local officials said on Wednesday. The attack occurred Tuesday afternoon in a market crowded with shoppers and vendors. Days earlier, RSF fighters were reported to have struck a mosque in el-Fasher, killing at least 70 people, including worshippers and three medical personnel, according to local groups.
An aid worker with the Emergency Response Rooms told The Associated Press on Wednesday, citing doctors and other ERR team members on the ground, that the toll on Tuesday included 15 dead and 12 wounded. The Resistance Committees in el-Fasher, a network of local activists who track fighting and abuses, confirmed the attack in a Facebook statement, calling it a “brutal attack” and saying RSF forces are trying to “bring the city to its knees” and break the will of residents. The RSF did not acknowledge the strike on its Telegram channel but said its fighters were advancing in the city and that it was evacuating “hundreds of civilians from el-Fasher,” without providing evidence.
El-Fasher is the RSF's last major stronghold in Darfur. The fighting between the RSF and the military erupted in 2023 and soon turned into a civil war that has killed at least 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and displaced as many as 12 million others. Over 24 million people are acutely food insecure, according to the World Food Program. The UN has warned that hundreds of civilians have been killed in RSF attacks in Darfur since April 10, and some areas face dire shortages of healthcare, food and clean water.
The current cholera outbreak, which began last July, has spread to all 18 states in Sudan and killed more than 3,000 people across the country in the last 14 months, according to the World Health Organization. Both warring sides have been accused of atrocities, including ethnic cleansing, extrajudicial killings and sexual violence against civilians, including children. Aid organizations say the humanitarian situation in Darfur remains precarious as fighting continues and access remains restricted for relief workers.