Sudan’s army says it repels RSF attack in El Fasher as aid groups warn of famine

October 12, 2025 (EL FASHER) – Sudan’s army said on Sunday it had repelled a major attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, as fighting escalates and aid groups warn of an imminent famine in the besieged city.

The clashes have moved to the vicinity of the army’s 6th Infantry Division headquarters. In a statement, the division said its forces repelled a “violent attack” from two axes, thwarting assaults on the medical corps hospital and the Iqra Hospital.

The army stated that the RSF used infantry, combat vehicles, and tanks in the attack, adding that its forces destroyed a tank, several vehicles, and killed at least 100 RSF fighters. The assault follows rapid advances made by the RSF last week before the army and its allied forces pushed them back.

The intensified fighting coincides with a severe deterioration in living conditions. For the second consecutive day, free kitchens have been unable to provide meals to thousands of displaced people in shelters and residential neighbourhoods.

Mohieldin Shougar, a local aid coordinator, issued an urgent appeal for airdrops of food and the opening of safe humanitarian corridors.

“The situation has reached a catastrophic stage, as food supplies have run out in local markets,” Shougar said in a press release. “This portends an imminent famine and an irreversible humanitarian disaster.”

He added that saving the people of El Fasher is a “historical and humanitarian responsibility that cannot be postponed.”

The RSF has recently intensified shelling of civilian gatherings and displacement centres with heavy artillery and drones, in what residents describe as a move to empty the city of its population.

On Saturday, an RSF drone strike on the “Dar al-Arqam” shelter killed at least 60 people, including women, children, and the elderly, according to local sources.

An RSF spokesman on Sunday rejected accusations of killing civilians, saying in a statement that the city is “devoid of residents” and that its forces were targeting “military elements or those loyal to the groups that support the army.”