At least 12 civilians were killed on Saturday by armed men belonging to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, who opened fire on two groups of youths traveling from Tawila in the Shaqra area, west of El-Fasher, North Darfur State.
The road has recently seen increased movement of people fleeing clashes in El-Fasher, along with others smuggling goods from Tawila to the city.
A survivor, identified as (K.A.), told Darfur24 that his group of seven had traveled on foot from Tawila and spent Friday night in Shaqra. He said they were ambushed by gunmen—believed to be RSF fighters—riding in a pickup truck, who opened fire, killing four young men on the spot on the pretext that they were carrying goods.
The survivor added that the gunmen tortured the remaining group, accusing them of “smuggling supplies to the army and the joint forces in El-Fasher.” After refusing to confess, they were eventually released.
Another survivor, (A.A.), told Darfur24 that the same armed group attacked a second group of 14 people nearby, killing eight of them after some attempted to flee.
The militia tortured and flogged the others before releasing them. In total, 12 people were killed and four others injured in the twin attacks.
Meanwhile, El-Fasher resident Abdelmajeed Adam told Darfur24 that three of his family members went missing on Saturday while traveling the same road. He later confirmed they had been detained by RSF fighters and taken to Zamzam camp, about 12 kilometers southwest of El-Fasher, on accusations of smuggling.
He noted that security conditions on the Tawila-El-Fasher route have sharply deteriorated due to heavy RSF deployment in the Shaqra area.
