El-Fasher Fighting: Updates on Sudan Army and RSF Clash
On Saturday, fierce battles erupted in the battleground city of El-Fasher, Darfur, as the Sudanese army confronted advancing paramilitary forces. According to military sources, these clashes followed the paramilitary group’s push into the city the previous day. Residents reported being jolted awake by the sound of heavy machine-gun fire echoing through the streets of a city housing a population of over one million, which has been besieged by these forces since May of last year.
Local military sources stated that the Sudanese army successfully reclaimed several strategic areas in the southern and western parts of El-Fasher. The reclaimed sites included Shala prison and the headquarters of the Central Reserve Police, a combat-trained unit. Nonetheless, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) contested these claims, asserting that control over these sites remained firmly with them, alongside the city’s livestock market.
In a bid to assert their dominance, the RSF circulated videos on social media purportedly showing their fighters in command of these critical locations. However, these video claims could not be independently verified by AFP. El-Fasher stands as the last significant city in Darfur under the army’s authority, increasingly facing aggressions from paramilitary forces following their withdrawal from the capital, Khartoum.
Witness Salah Issa, from the central neighborhood of Awlad al-Rif, recounted that the clashes commenced around 3 am local time. He noted, “The attacks on Friday emerged from the south and west, and today they are advancing toward the airport, located also to the west of the city.”
Another local, Mohieddine Abdel Rahman, detailed that the fighting included intense close-quarter combat involving the use of machine guns. Activists reported that the renewed offensive began with heavy shelling on Tuesday evening and persisted throughout Wednesday. A doctor at El-Fasher Teaching Hospital conveyed to AFP that an RSF drone strike tragically claimed the lives of eight civilians, who were sheltering in a bomb shelter.
Accurate casualty figures remain elusive amidst the turmoil, as the city is grappling with a communications blackout, accessible only to a few with satellite internet. Additionally, due to the ongoing fighting, nearly all healthcare facilities have had to shut down.
The United Nations has consistently raised alarms regarding the dire circumstances facing El-Fasher’s trapped civilians. Many have resorted to seeking refuge in makeshift bunkers constructed in courtyards and outside their homes. The impact of the conflict has been devastating, with tens of thousands of individuals losing their lives since the onset of the war in April 2023. Furthermore, the conflict has resulted in the displacement of over 14 million people across the nation.
