'NO SAFE PLACE': RSF STRIKE KILLS 13 DISPLACED CIVILLIANS IN SUDAN MOSQUE

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BY MUNIRAT BALOGUN

An artillery bombardment by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces resulted in the deaths of 13 individuals at a mosque serving as a refuge for displaced families in the besieged city of El-Fasher, as reported by two eyewitnesses to AFP on Thursday.

The assault on the mosque originated from the north, as confirmed by both sources who requested anonymity, where the RSF has overtaken the Abu Shouk displacement camp and established positions in an effort to seize control of the city from the Sudanese army.

“After the bombardment in the afternoon, we retrieved 13 corpses from beneath the debris and interred them,” recounted a local resident regarding the incident that transpired on Wednesday.

A survivor of the attack stated: “We were 70 families within the mosque’s confines after the Rapid Support Forces invaded our homes. Yesterday, artillery rounds struck, resulting in the deaths of 13 among us, injuring 20, and damaging part of the mosque. ”

The RSF’s ongoing offensive against El-Fasher represents its most intense campaign since hostilities erupted with the army in April 2023.

The capital of North Darfur, which has been surrounded by the RSF since May of the prior year, is the last major city still under military control, although the territory governed by the army and its allies has steadily diminished.

The RSF has conducted near-daily artillery and drone assaults while overwhelming the displacement camps encircling the city, reportedly killing hundreds and extorting survivors for safe passage.

– Millions Displaced –

Between Tuesday and Wednesday, 20 individuals lost their lives due to RSF strikes on El-Fasher Hospital, one of the last operational healthcare facilities in the area.

Last month, a single drone strike on a mosque claimed at least 75 lives.

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Throughout Sudan, the conflict has displaced millions and pushed nearly 25 million people into severe food insecurity, contributing to what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest crises of hunger and displacement.

The conflict has also resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands, though there is no official toll, as many of the wounded are unable to reach hospitals and survivors are compelled to bury their deceased wherever possible.

The RSF’s siege of El-Fasher has induced widespread starvation within the city, where families have subsisted on animal fodder for months. However, even that resource has become scarce and is now priced at hundreds of dollars per sack.

Should the city succumb to the paramilitaries, the RSF will assume control over the entire Darfur region, where they have aimed to establish a competing administration.

The army retains control over the northern, central, and eastern parts of the country.

AFP