CAIRO – Sudan's paramilitary swift supporters launched an attack on Monday at a starving evacuation camp outside Elfasher, the capital of North Darfur, killing 40 people, local rights groups said.
An emergency response room group working at Abu Shouk Displacement Camp said in a statement on Facebook that Sudanese troops and the war-based RSF had attacked parts of the camp targeting civilians in the home. A group of community activists providing support across Sudan said at least 19 people were injured.
The Abshuk refuge camp, located outside Elfasher, which houses around 450,000 displaced people, was repeatedly attacked during the war. The Sudanese army manages Elfasher despite frequent strikes by the RSF.
Meanwhile, El-Fasher's Resistance Committee confirmed the attack and said on Facebook that the scene “reflects the extent of the horrific offences committed against innocent, defenseless people.” The Resistance Committee is a group of local citizens in the community, including human rights activists.
The civil war in Sudan erupted in the capital Khartoum in April 2023, then spread across the country after a tension in momentum between the RSF and the Army continued. The battle killed more than 40,000 people, displaced 12 million people, and pushed many to the brink of hunger. According to humanitarians, the Abu Shok camp is one of two camps with strong hunger conditions.
Sudanese troops said they ended Monday at around 6am to 6pm and collided with an RSF fighter plane at Elfasher. According to a social media post, it claimed it defeated the paramilitary group.
“Our army fought back massive attacks from several axes by terrorist militias, causing great losses to the enemy as more than 16 combat vehicles were destroyed and burned, and 34 vehicles, including armored vehicles, were captured,” the Army allegedly.
There was no mention of the fight on the RSF telegram channel.
Darfur Gov. Mini Arko Minawi told Facebook that, clearly referring to RSF in Monday's battle, that El-Fasher “won over those who betrayed the land.”
Meanwhile, in Northern Kordofan province, the RSF has been accused of stoking over 3,000 families from 66 villages in combat since early August. The group also said that the RSF plundered those people's property and stole their money and livestock. These displaced people were due to arrive in Khartoum and White Nile last week.