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June 23, 2024 (El Fasher) – The death toll in El Fasher has risen to more than 260 people, with more than 1,500 injured since the fighting began in May, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the Darfur Ministry of Health. Meanwhile, the governor of North Darfur State called for the destruction of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) artillery shelling the state capital.
On May 10, the RSF launched a siege on El Fasher, which was followed by heavy shelling and violent clashes with the Sudanese army and its allies. The violence forced thousands of people to flee the city.
Doctors Without Borders reported in a statement that more than 260 people have been killed and more than 1,630 injured, including women and children, since the conflict broke out six weeks ago. The organization condemned the shelling of the pharmacy of the Saudi Maternity Hospital on Friday night, which killed a pharmacist and two other people nearby.
Doctors Without Borders stressed that despite the UN Security Council’s call for a ceasefire, hospitals continue to be attacked and aid delivery is blocked. The Saudi hospital is currently only partially operational due to damage and is still the only medical facility still operating in El Fasher, with limited supplies and staff, making it difficult to operate.
The hospital has been targeted twice, one of eight attacks on health facilities in the city since May 10. The South Hospital was closed after an RSF attack, while the Maternity Hospital was closed after an RSF shelling.
On Sunday, the Rapid Security Forces carried out indiscriminate shelling on a dialysis centre treating 94 patients, the army headquarters, the main market and residential areas.
Darfur Governor Minni Minawi condemned the actions of the Rapid Support Forces, accusing the paramilitary group of attacking the region’s only treatment center and sentencing kidney patients to death. He called on the international community to bear witness to these crimes.
The Darfur Ministry of Health confirmed that the ongoing violence has resulted in a rising death toll, displaced thousands of people and destroyed many homes.
Call for bombing of RSF artillery
Meanwhile, North Darfur’s acting governor, Hafiz Bakhit, urged army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to halt the indiscriminate shelling of the El Fasher neighbourhood by the Rapid Support Forces.
The governor in a press statement on Sunday claimed that the army had the capability to “destroy the artillery of the Rapid Security Forces and stop the relentless bombardment.”
He called on army commanders to intervene to break the Rapid Security Forces siege of El Fasher and reopen the Dabba-Merit-El Fasher road to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and food, as the siege has led to a sharp increase in commodity prices.
“Most of the city’s residents are now living on the streets due to the systematic and deliberate shelling by the Rapid Support Forces, aimed at forcing them to flee their homes. These displaced people lack shelter, food and access to basic humanitarian services,” Bakhit added.
The Rapid Security Forces seek to take control of El Fasher to consolidate control over the entire Darfur region, while the army and its allies are steadfast in defending the city, their last stronghold in western Sudan.
However, observers stressed that such a public appeal could indicate that the military leadership was not responding to the governor’s private request.
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