Renewed clashes rock El Fasher, 12 civilian killed
May 20, 2024 (EL FASHER) – At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured in renewed clashes between the Sudanese army, allied forces, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. The city endured heavy aerial and artillery bombardment throughout Monday.
The Coordination of Resistance Committees in El Fasher reported that after failing to enter the city with their infantry, the RSF resorted to heavy artillery shelling, targeting residential areas and markets. They noted that seven people were killed in the main market of El Fasher.
Later on Monday evening, the Darfur Regional Ministry of Health reported that 12 people had been killed and dozens injured due to the RSF’s indiscriminate shelling of El Fasher’s neighbourhoods.
The Ministry of Health confirmed that the RSF’s artillery shelling hit the Saudi Women’s and Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, resulting in several injuries among patients’ companions and passersby and causing significant damage to parts of the hospital.
The statement added that the RSF also shelled the Abu Shouk IDP camp, the main market, the Al-Azma and Thawra Janoub neighbourhoods, the Makkar neighbourhood, and the police garrison, leading to 12 deaths, dozens of injuries, and the destruction of several homes and shops.
Additionally, the RSF posted on social media what they described as tragic scenes of the Sudanese army’s airstrikes on civilian homes in El Fasher.
Local sources confirmed that the army’s aircraft targeted RSF positions east and north of El Fasher. They added that the RSF responded with heavy artillery shelling on the army headquarters in El Fasher, and the army’s artillery retaliated against the RSF shelling.
The Darfur Displaced and Refugees Bloc accused the RSF of shelling the Saudi Women’s and Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, resulting in over ten injuries and forcing the hospital to cease operations.
Several hospitals, including El Fasher Teaching Hospital and a children’s hospital, have been rendered inoperative due to the recent clashes in El Fasher.
Abdul Hafiz Al-Ghali, a member of the emergency committee of Abu Shouk IDP camp in El Fasher, told Sudan Tribune, “Five people died instantly, and dozens were injured when artillery shells fired by the RSF hit the Hajar Qadu market.”
He highlighted that the RSF continues to target civilian areas with heavy artillery, resulting in numerous casualties. Eyewitnesses reported that the ongoing random shelling by the RSF also targeted the northern and eastern neighbourhoods of El Fasher, as well as the Um Dafaso market, causing several uncounted deaths and injuries.
Civilian movement restricted
Meanwhile, citizens told Sudan Tribune that the RSF and the joint force prevented many people from leaving El Fasher and restricted their movements.
Hikma Sagairoun, a resident of the Al-Wihda neighbourhood south of El Fasher, said that RSF soldiers spread through the neighbourhood and prevented some residents, including her family, from leaving the city to a safer place in South Darfur. She explained that an RSF field commander told them they had blocked vehicle movements and prevented cars from transporting citizens out of El Fasher.
She noted that there are patients who need to leave El Fasher due to a lack of medication caused by the RSF’s siege of the city. She called on international organizations to pressure the RSF to open safe corridors for civilians wishing to leave El Fasher.
Mohamed Hassan Al-Toum, a resident of the Al-Daraja neighbourhood west of El Fasher, told Sudan Tribune that a joint force checkpoint ordered their vehicle not to leave El Fasher for the town of Mellit, from where they planned to cross into Libya.
He stated that the situation in El Fasher has become uninhabitable for civilians due to the military escalation between the conflicting parties and the heavy artillery shelling, particularly from RSF positions north and east of the city.