In a devastating development from Sudan’s embattled Darfur region, at least 57 people, including 17 children, were killed when drone strikes hit a displacement shelter in the besieged city of El-Fasher. The attack marks a significant escalation in the humanitarian crisis gripping this war-torn nation.
The strikes targeted the Dar al-Arqam camp, situated within a university compound, where displaced civilians had sought refuge from the ongoing conflict. Local medical personnel report that 17 others sustained injuries in the attack, which included two drone strikes and multiple artillery shells.
El-Fasher stands as the last major urban center under army control in the Darfur region, where it has endured a 17-month siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The city’s 250,000 civilians face increasingly dire circumstances as food and medical supplies dwindle under the tightening blockade.
Eyewitnesses describe harrowing scenes as rescue workers extracted bodies from the rubble. The city’s remaining medical facilities, already operating under severe constraints, are now overwhelmed, forcing medical staff to treat the wounded in corridors and on floors.
This attack follows a pattern of escalating violence in El-Fasher. Just two days prior, 13 people lost their lives when one of the city’s few remaining hospitals came under artillery fire. The RSF has recently intensified its offensive, constructing an earthen wall around the city that further restricts civilian movement and humanitarian access.
The broader conflict, which erupted in 2023 following a power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese army, has claimed more than 150,000 lives nationwide and displaced approximately 12 million people. The RSF currently controls most of Darfur and significant portions of the Kordofan region, while the army maintains its grip on northern and eastern Sudan.
Military analysts suggest El-Fasher’s fall may be imminent unless the army receives substantial reinforcements. The city’s capture would give the RSF complete control over Darfur, potentially enabling them to establish an alternative government in the region.
The United Nations has warned that these attacks on civilian areas may constitute war crimes. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has explicitly condemned the ongoing civilian casualties, expressing particular concern over the targeting of vulnerable populations in displacement camps.
As El-Fasher’s crisis deepens, the international community faces mounting pressure to address what local activists describe as a situation that has “gone beyond disaster and genocide.” The fate of thousands of civilians hangs in the balance as this strategic city faces what may be its final days under government control.
