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An artillery strike carried out by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed 13 people inside a mosque sheltering displaced families in the besieged city of El-Fasher, according to two eyewitnesses who spoke to AFP on Thursday.
Both witnesses, who requested anonymity, said the shelling came from the north, an area now controlled by the RSF after it overran the Abu Shouk displacement camp. The paramilitary group has been attempting to seize full control of El-Fasher from the Sudanese army.
“After the shelling in the afternoon, we pulled 13 bodies from under the rubble and buried them,” said one resident describing Wednesday’s deadly attack.
A survivor of the strike recounted: “We were 70 families inside the mosque’s walls after the Rapid Support Forces entered our homes. Yesterday, artillery shells fell, killing 13 of us, wounding 20, and destroying part of the mosque.”
The RSF’s offensive on El-Fasher marks its most intense assault since the war with the Sudanese army erupted in April 2023.
El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, has been under siege since May last year. It remains the final major city under army control, though the military’s territory has gradually diminished.
The RSF has conducted near-daily artillery and drone strikes, taking over surrounding displacement camps, where hundreds have reportedly been killed and survivors extorted for safe passage.
Between Tuesday and Wednesday, RSF attacks on El-Fasher Hospital — one of the city’s last functioning medical facilities — killed 20 people. Last month, at least 75 people died in a single drone strike targeting another mosque.
Nationwide, Sudan’s war has forced millions from their homes and pushed nearly 25 million people into acute hunger — a crisis the United Nations describes as the world’s largest in terms of hunger and displacement.
Tens of thousands have been killed, though the exact death toll remains unknown as many victims cannot reach hospitals, and survivors are compelled to bury their dead wherever possible.
The RSF’s siege has deepened starvation in El-Fasher, where families have long survived on animal feed — a commodity now scarce and selling for hundreds of dollars per sack.
If El-Fasher falls, the RSF will gain control over the entire Darfur region, where it has been working to establish a rival administration. The Sudanese army, meanwhile, retains control over the country’s north, centre, and east.
