At least 27 civilians were killed and about 130 injured following the renewal of conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur State, a United Nations (UN) agency said on Sunday.
“Unconfirmed reports indicate that at least 27 people have been killed, including women and children, while about 130 people have been injured,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest report.
“El Fasher South Hospital, which has a 100-bed capacity, has surpassed its maximum capacity,” the report added.
An estimated 850 people (170 families) were displaced to various locations across El Fasher locality due to the clashes, OCHA said, citing a report by the International Organization for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix.
For weeks, the RSF has been mobilizing thousands of fighters on the outskirts of El Fasher in preparation for an attack while the SAF and allied Darfuri armed groups strengthened their military presence at the entrances to El Fasher and around most of the city’s neighborhoods.
Last week, the UN warned that some 800,000 people in El Fasher were in “extreme and immediate danger” as worsening violence advances and threatens to “unleash bloody intercommunal strife” throughout Darfur.
Since the conflict between the SAF and the RSF broke out on April 15, 2023, 15,550 fatalities have been recorded, while the number of people displaced has reached 8.7 million, according to recent estimates by the OCHA.
