Deadly strike hits shelter for displaced during heavy El Fasher fighting

June 15, 2025  (EL FASHER) – At least 35 displaced persons were killed and wounded after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled a shelter at the Ministry of Agriculture building in El Fasher, the governor of North Darfur said on Sunday.

The alleged shelling followed a large-scale ground assault launched by the RSF at dawn on Sunday, ending a period in which its forces had halted ground incursions into the city and instead relied on artillery and drone strikes.

“As the militia was retreating following its defeat, it shelled a shelter for the displaced at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, which led to the martyrdom of five people and the injury of more than 30 others,” Governor Al-Hafiz Bakhit said in a statement.

Bakhit stated that the Sudanese Armed Forces, police, intelligence services, and allied joint forces had repelled the major RSF attack. He added that the offensive, which lasted until midday, resulted in dozens of RSF casualties and the destruction and seizure of a large number of military vehicles.

Separately, the army’s 6th Infantry Division in El Fasher reported that it had countered a “treacherous” attack by the RSF. It claimed to have broken the RSF’s advance and inflicted heavy losses, including two “Sarsar” armored vehicles and two armored combat vehicles.

Residents of El Fasher are grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis, facing shortages and high prices for goods due to a siege imposed on the city by the RSF since April 2024.