El Fasher / Karnoi / Kutum — The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted various areas of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, with heavy artillery yesterday. Karnoi Emergency Room reported casualties and the scorching of villages on Saturday.
A resident of the city told Radio Dabanga that RSF paramilitaries infiltrated the eastern neighbourhoods of El Fasher yesterday morning, clashed with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Sudanese Joint Force (formerly the Darfur Joint Force), and retreated.
He said that many residents fled the eastern neighbourhoods where “the shelling was violent from the early morning until late afternoon.”
12 civilians were killed and several others injured by shelling launched by the RSF on El Fasher on October 27.
On October 2, fierce fighting was reported from El Fasher. Violent battles between the army supported by the Sudanese Joint Force and armed civilian groups and the RSF were reported in the eastern and southeastern neighbourhoods. The RSF, which holds most of North Darfur, has been battling the SAF to control the state capital since May.
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), more than 410,000 people have been displaced from El Fasher over the past six months, many of whom have been forced to relocate multiple times due to the ongoing conflict.
Karnoi
On Saturday, the emergency room of Karnoi in northwestern North Darfur launched an appeal to regional and international humanitarian organisations to intervene urgently. They requested relief for displaced people who fled the fighting in the areas of Birdik, Jira, and Anka in neighbouring Kutum.
The Karnoi Emergency Room stated on its Facebook page that entire villages were “burned to the ground.” Widespread violations against people were reported. The emergency room reported the names of 12 people killed, five people wounded, and three people detained.
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“The newly displaced are now living in out the open without shelter. They desperately need support, especially given the cold weather, which increases their suffering,” said the post.
Yesterday, Saleh Abdallah, head of the Zaghawa tribal council, warned that the RSF is planning to attack three localities in North Darfur, raising fears of a further escalation of the conflict in Sudan.
He reportedly told Sudan Tribune that the RSF was planning to “invade” El Tina, Umbaru, and Karnoi localities from a base in neighbouring West Darfur. These areas are currently partly held by the Sudanese army and allied forces.
Kutum
Since mid-October, the RSF and allied militias have been accused of carrying out revenge attacks against Zaghawa communities in Kutum locality, North Darfur, reportedly burning more than 45 villages.
The Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements seized the area north of Kutum, which is reportedly of ‘strategic importance’ for the RSF, on October 2. The RSF took control of Kutum, 120 kilometres northwest of El Fasher, in early June.
The RSF took control of four of the five Darfur states at the end of last year, and set up governments in these states.
The war in Sudan has brought unparalleled damage to Darfur’s healthcare infrastructure, leaving communities without vital medical services in a region already burdened by decades of conflict and neglect.
The federal Ministry of Health considers the areas under RSF control as ‘unreachable.’ It has neither provided medical aid nor financial support to the health ministries in these areas.
