24 civilians killed in RSF artillery strike on El-Fasher

August 28, 2025 (EL FASHER) – At least 24 civilians were killed and dozens were injured by intense artillery shelling from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in el-Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, doctors said on Thursday.

The city has been under its most violent air and ground attacks from the RSF for more than 10 consecutive days, forcing thousands of people to flee.

A statement from the Sudan Doctors’ Network said the shelling on Wednesday targeted the central market area and the Awlad al-Reef neighbourhood. “Twenty-four people were killed and 55 others injured, including five women,” the group said.

The doctors’ network condemned what it called a “massacre” and a “heinous crime,” adding it to a series of alleged war crimes and genocide targeting unarmed civilians in el-Fasher for more than a year, amid a tight siege and severe shortages of food and medicine.

The statement described the targeting of densely populated residential areas as a “flagrant violation of all international and humanitarian laws.”

It accused the international community, the UN Security Council, and the African Union of “silence and inability” to confront the crimes and called for immediate action to stop the shelling and lift the siege on the city.

As fighting intensifies, thousands of trapped residents face a severe humanitarian crisis, with shortages of food and medicine after the RSF cut off all roads into el-Fasher and blocked aid deliveries.