A relentless campaign of drone and rocket strikes by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is forcing residents of El Fasher to seek refuge in underground bunkers, as the humanitarian situation in Sudan’s last major holdout city reaches a critical point.
The siege on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has trapped an estimated 400,000 people, with many unable to flee due to fears of being kidnapped, robbed, or killed on the roads out of the city. According to the United Nations, over one million people have already been displaced from the city since the conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army began in 2023.
The violence has repeatedly targeted civilian infrastructure, including camps for the displaced. A devastating attack on the Dar Alaman camp on October 11th killed at least 30 people, according to footage from the scene. Survivors described a horrific scene where two rockets struck the camp, with the second hitting a shelter where displaced people had run for safety.
“More than 50 people were killed. Others have been injured,” one survivor stated, noting that the victims, including a six-months-pregnant woman, had just come from a soup kitchen. “We have nothing to do with the war,” the survivor added. “We are just citizens who want to leave.”
The RSF, which controls most of the Darfur region, has surrounded El Fasher and prevented supplies of food and medicine from reaching those inside, causing widespread hunger and suffering. The assaults are not isolated incidents.
“The drone incident and this shelling wasn’t a one-off,” another resident reported. “This happened maybe about three times a day and then we ran to the shelters. Four or more of us died and a number of people were injured.”
Beyond the camps, schools and mosques have also been targeted. The RSF has also been accused of carrying out repeated drone attacks on the Abushuk camp, and in other instances, opening fire inside the camp and looting belongings.
“People attacked the center and killed two of us, wounded three or four and took all the ambers [animal feed] and blankets,” a witness said.
Despite the dire circumstances and the grim choice between the danger of leaving and the threat of starvation by staying, a thread of hope remains. Many across Sudan are pinning their hopes on ongoing peace talks and mediation efforts, clinging to the belief that a resolution will eventually restore stability and allow them to begin the slow process of rebuilding their shattered lives.
