Shelling of El-Fasher by Sudanese paramilitaries kills 17, injures 25

Sudanese paramilitary forces shelled North Darfur's besieged capital El-Fasher on Saturday, killing at least 17 civilians and injuring 25 others, a medical source told AFP.

Speaking anonymously for safety reasons, the source at El-Fasher hospital said these numbers only account for those who reached the hospital, adding that others were buried by their families, unable to access medical centres due to ongoing security challenges.

Since May last year, El-Fasher has been under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which have been battling Sudan's army since April 2023.

According to the local resistance committee -- one of hundreds of volunteer groups documenting atrocities during the conflict -- the attack involved heavy artillery shelling by the RSF across several residential neighbourhoods.

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The bombardment began early Saturday and continued well into the afternoon, the committee said in a statement, describing the assault as one of the deadliest recent attacks on the city, resulting in numerous casualties and severe damage to property and infrastructure.

A few kilometres to the north, paramilitaries also shelled the famine-stricken Abu Shouk displacement camp, killing several civilians including a community leader and injuring at least 20 people, according to the camp's Emergency Response Room, which has been coordinating frontline aid throughout the war.

Following the RSF's loss of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, to the army in March, El-Fasher and nearby displacement camps have been targeted in renewed attacks.

In April, a major RSF offensive on the nearby Zamzam camp displaced tens of thousands, many of whom sought refuge in El-Fasher.

The ongoing war between Sudan's army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and triggered what the United Nations calls the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.

The conflict has effectively divided the country, with the army controlling the north, east and centre while the RSF holds much of Darfur and parts of the south.

Last year, famine was declared in three camps near El-Fasher, including Abu Shouk and Zamzam. The UN has warned the crisis would extend into the city itself by last May, although a lack of data has so far prevented an official famine declaration.

This month, the World Food Programme (WFP) said thousands of families trapped in El-Fasher are at "risk of starvation".

According to the WFP, prices for staple foods like sorghum and wheat -- used to make traditional flatbreads and porridge -- are up to 460 percent higher in El-Fasher compared to other parts of Sudan.

Markets and clinics have been attacked while community kitchens that once fed displaced families have largely shut down due to a lack of supplies, the UN agency added.

Nearly 40 percent of children under five in El-Fasher are now acutely malnourished, with 11 percent suffering from severe acute malnutrition, according to UN figures.

Malnutrition has already claimed 63 lives -- mostly women and children -- in just one week in El-Fasher, a senior health official told AFP last week.

At the city's largest community kitchen, organisers say children and women arriving show clear signs of malnutrition, including swollen bellies and sunken eyes.

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The humanitarian crisis is being compounded by a cholera outbreak that is sweeping through overcrowded displacement camps.

In April, a major RSF offensive on the nearby Zamzam camp displaced tens of thousands, many of whom sought refuge in El-Fasher.

The ongoing war between Sudan's army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and triggered what the United Nations calls the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.

The conflict has effectively divided the country, with the army controlling the north, east and centre while the RSF holds much of Darfur and parts of the south.

Last year, famine was declared in three camps near El-Fasher, including Abu Shouk and Zamzam. The UN has warned the crisis would extend into the city itself by last May, although a lack of data has so far prevented an official famine declaration.

This month, the World Food Programme (WFP) said thousands of families trapped in El-Fasher are at "risk of starvation".

According to the WFP, prices for staple foods like sorghum and wheat -- used to make traditional flatbreads and porridge -- are up to 460 percent higher in El-Fasher compared to other parts of Sudan.

Markets and clinics have been attacked while community kitchens that once fed displaced families have largely shut down due to a lack of supplies, the UN agency added.

Nearly 40 percent of children under five in El-Fasher are now acutely malnourished, with 11 percent suffering from severe acute malnutrition, according to UN figures.

Malnutrition has already claimed 63 lives -- mostly women and children -- in just one week in El-Fasher, a senior health official told AFP last week.

At the city's largest community kitchen, organisers say children and women arriving show clear signs of malnutrition, including swollen bellies and sunken eyes.

The humanitarian crisis is being compounded by a cholera outbreak that is sweeping through overcrowded displacement camps.