Sudan: El-Fashir Hit by Heaviest Artillery Barrage from RSF
Sudan Events – Agencies
The city of El-Fashir, capital of North Darfur in western Sudan, came under heavy artillery and drone strikes on Friday, targeting displacement centers, markets, and residential neighborhoods. The assault was described as the most intense in weeks, as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continued to tighten their siege on the Sudanese army and allied factions from multiple fronts around the city.
Colonel Ahmed Hussein, spokesperson for the joint force allied with the army, said that “the terrorist RSF militia” launched violent attacks at dawn on displacement camps, shelters, and residential areas. He described the offensive as “acts of revenge” against innocent civilians, stressing that the bombardment is part of a broader pattern of violations committed by the RSF against non-combatants throughout the war.
Last week, the Sudanese army managed for the first time since May of last year to break the aerial blockade of El-Fashir, carrying out a successful airdrop of military supplies. The operation came as RSF units were positioned only a short distance from the army’s general command in the city.
In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Hussein added that the militia carried out heavy and medium artillery strikes across wide sections of the city, causing significant civilian casualties that were still being counted. He noted, however, that the situation on the ground remained under full control of the army and allied forces defending El-Fashir against what he called retaliatory campaigns targeting the population at large.
For more than a year, the RSF has besieged El-Fashir, the only state capital in Darfur still under army control.
The local Resistance Committees in El-Fashir reported that the city had been subjected since early morning to intensive shelling targeting markets and hospitals. In a statement posted on Facebook, the committees described the assault as “barbaric,” part of a series of recurring massacres carried out daily by militias against civilians. “Shells are raining down on the city, the stench of death fills the streets, many homes have been destroyed, and residents continue to pull bodies from under the rubble,” the statement read.
In recent days, the RSF has advanced on several fronts inside the city, intensifying artillery bombardments of residential areas and deploying drones. The strikes have caused heavy civilian casualties alongside losses among fighters from both warring sides.
Eyewitnesses reported that drone attacks have become increasingly intense, raising the civilian death toll as the army attempts to repel them.
The RSF has not commented on the attacks, but local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the militia has stepped up its use of both suicide and strategic drones in recent days, striking indiscriminately across the city.
On Thursday, the army’s Sixth Infantry Division announced that its forces and allied factions repelled coordinated RSF assaults on the city’s southeastern front, in which infantry units and combat vehicles were deployed. The attackers reportedly suffered heavy losses in personnel and equipment.
The Sudanese army garrison in El-Fashir has withstood dozens of RSF attacks and infiltration attempts over recent months, repelling more than 200 assaults.
As artillery fire and fierce clashes continue in and around El-Fashir, waves of civilians have been fleeing toward areas in Tawila locality, north of the state.
