Sudan army clashes with RSF in El Fasher as UN chief condemns attacks
August 29, 2025 (EL FASHER) – Heavy fighting continued on Friday between the Sudanese army and its allies against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, in a major escalation that drew condemnation from the United Nations chief, who called for an immediate ceasefire.
The RSF has been attempting to seize control of the army’s last stronghold in the vast Darfur region. In the past two weeks, the group has expanded its military operations, reaching strategic positions held by the army and its allied armed movements.
“The bloody confrontations continued today with greater intensity on the southern axis, with skirmishes in the east and north,” military sources told Sudan Tribune.
The RSF has been pushing to enter the city centre from the south, making rapid advances over the last three days to capture the city’s second-largest market and other key sites.
However, a Sudanese army military source said the armed forces and their allies had repelled RSF infiltration attempts on the southern axis, pushing them back from army residential areas and an artillery base.
The RSF’s objective on this front is to capture El Fasher’s airport and neutralize the 6th Infantry Division’s artillery, which has been crucial in repelling RSF advances amid a lack of government air support.
Sources said the southern Awlad al-Rif neighbourhood has become an active combat zone, with the RSF deploying large reinforcements and drones. They added that the army and its allies have continuously repelled these attacks.
DOZENS OF CASUALTIES
Medical sources in El Fasher said dozens of civilians were killed and many more were injured on Friday in one of the city’s deadliest days. Over 400 artillery shells struck various neighbourhoods, including shelters for displaced people.
Both the military hospital and the makeshift Southern Hospital received a large number of dead and wounded amid a severe shortage of life-saving medicines and medical staff, the sources said.
The Southern Hospital’s new location was heavily shelled by the RSF last week, destroying its emergency department and injuring about six medical staff.
UN CONCERN
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is deeply alarmed by the ongoing attacks by the RSF in El Fasher, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have been trapped for more than 500 days.
Recent weeks have seen near-constant shelling and deadly raids on the Abu Shouk displacement camp, which has faced famine conditions since December 2024. The U.N. has documented at least 125 civilian deaths in the El Fasher area since Aug. 11, noting the actual number is likely much higher.
Guterres is concerned about the grave risk of serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, including ethnically motivated abuses, his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said in a statement.
He added that while relief supplies are positioned nearby, U.N. efforts to deliver them into El Fasher remain blocked. The RSF has refused to allow humanitarian access, tightening its siege with an earth barrier to control all routes into and out of the city.
Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire and for steps to protect civilians, ensure unimpeded access to aid, and allow safe passage for anyone wishing to leave.