Sudanese army repels major attack on El Fasher, inflicting heavy RSF losses
September 12, 2024 (EL FASHER) – The Sudanese army said on Thursday it had thwarted a major attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
The RSF assault, the 133rd on the city since the conflict began, left over 80 RSF fighters dead, including prominent commanders.
The attack, launched early Thursday, targeted the city’s northern, northeastern and southern parts. The RSF had deployed significant reinforcements to the area in preparation for the offensive.
Fierce battles raged in the Al-Salam, Al-Inqaz, and Al-Wahda neighbourhoods, with both sides utilizing a variety of weaponry.
“The armed forces, the joint force and the heroes of the popular resistance in El Fasher today wrote a new epic by repelling a major attack,” army spokesman Brigadier General Nabil Abdullah Abdullah said in a statement. He added that the RSF suffered heavy losses in personnel and vehicles.
Ahmed Hussein Mustafa, a spokesman for the joint force supporting the army, said more than 80 RSF fighters were killed and over 20 military vehicles destroyed. Ten combat vehicles were also seized in good condition.
El Fasher is the only major city in Darfur that is not under RSF control. The paramilitary group has been accused of cutting off aid routes to the city, defying international calls for humanitarian access.
While the paramilitary group attacked the capital of North Darfur, the Sudanese air force intensified its bombing of RSF positions in Mellit and Nyala, aiming to disrupt the flow of reinforcements to El Fasher. The RSF had been preparing the attack for several weeks.
“The attack on El Fasher came amid repeated international calls and UN Security Council resolutions for the need to open routes for the flow of humanitarian aid,” Mustafa said. He accused the RSF and its backers of ignoring these calls and detaining aid convoys.
Social media pages affiliated with the RSF mourned the deaths of several commanders killed in the fighting, including Abdul Rahman Qarn Shata, a prominent field commander and media figure.
Before moving to El Fasher, Shata had participated in many battles in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere.
The fighting in Sudan, which erupted in April between the army and the RSF, has triggered a major humanitarian crisis, with millions displaced and in need of aid.