Heavy Clashes in El Fasher Amid Warnings of Acute Humanitarian and Health Crisis
Sudan Events – Agencies
Military sources told Al Jazeera that fierce clashes erupted between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) south of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, following a United Nations report that nearly 90 people had been killed in recent days.
The sources said both sides were using heavy and medium weaponry in the fighting.
Local residents also reported hearing explosions and the sound of heavy weapons fire since early morning in different parts of the city, particularly to the south.
For weeks, El Fasher has witnessed daily battles between the two sides, with the RSF seeking to seize control of the city through repeated assaults, while the army has been repelling attacks and attempting to break the siege the RSF has imposed on the city for more than two years.
On Friday, the UN said at least 89 people had been killed over a 10-day period in attacks it attributed to the RSF on the besieged city and the nearby Abu Shouk displacement camp.
The RSF — which has been at war with the army since mid-April 2023 — has maintained its blockade of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, since May of that year.
Attacks and Fears
Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said:
“Both El Fasher and the Abu Shouk camp have seen brutal attacks carried out by the RSF, which left at least 89 civilians dead over 10 days up to 20 August.”
He added in a press briefing in Geneva that the real civilian death toll “is likely to be much higher,” stressing that “these attacks are unacceptable and must stop immediately.”
Laurence expressed “shock” at reports that in the latest atrocities, 16 people appeared to have been executed in summary killings. Most of the victims were from the African-origin Zaghawa tribe and were reportedly slain inside Abu Shouk camp.
“This pattern of deliberately targeting civilians and ethnically motivated killings constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” he warned, “and underscores our deep concern about escalating ethnically driven violence.”
Humanitarian Emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned that El Fasher is facing “an acute humanitarian and health crisis” due to conflict, siege, and mass displacement.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said civilians were grappling with severe food shortages, rising deaths from malnutrition, and a critical lack of access to medical services.
He noted that “Darfur is seeing a wide outbreak of cholera affecting both host communities and displacement camps, adding further pressure on an already fragile health system.”
Lindmeier confirmed that all 18 Sudanese states have reported cholera cases, with 48,768 infections and 1,094 deaths recorded as of August 11.
Cholera, the WHO explains, is an acute diarrheal disease caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water and is considered “a marker of inequity and lack of social and economic development.”
Source: Al Jazeera
