On Monday, Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a deadly assault on the famine-stricken Abu Shouk displacement camp near el-Fasher, North Darfur, killing at least 40 people and injuring 19, according to local rights groups.
The Emergency Response Rooms, a community aid group, reported that RSF fighters targeted civilians inside their homes. The camp, home to roughly 450,000 displaced individuals, has faced repeated attacks throughout Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict, though the Sudanese military still holds control over el-Fasher.
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The Resistance Committees of el-Fasher condemned the attack as a display of “horrific violations” against defenseless civilians. The Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab released satellite images showing around 40 vehicles in the camp’s northwest area during the assault.
Additional analysis of photos and videos reportedly captured RSF fighters shooting at fleeing civilians, using ethnic slurs, and blocking escape routes from el-Fasher toward surrounding towns, tightening the siege around the area.
The violence is part of a broader civil war that erupted in April 2023 following a breakdown in relations between the RSF and the Sudanese army. The war has resulted in over 40,000 deaths, displaced approximately 12 million people, and pushed millions toward famine.
Abu Shouk is one of only two camps in Sudan facing extreme famine conditions, according to humanitarian agencies. The fighting in el-Fasher on Monday began early in the morning and continued until the afternoon, with both the RSF and the Sudanese army claiming battlefield successes.
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The Sudanese military reported repelling a large-scale RSF attack, destroying 16 combat vehicles, and capturing 34 more. In contrast, the RSF claimed it made territorial advances in el-Fasher and captured military equipment, though without detailed evidence. North Darfur Governor Mini Arko Minawi praised el-Fasher’s “triumph” over what he called traitors, signaling continued government resistance against RSF advances.
Beyond Darfur, the RSF has been accused of displacing more than 3,000 families from 66 villages in North Kordofan province since early August, looting homes and livestock, and killing at least 18 civilians. Displaced populations have fled toward Khartoum and White Nile provinces.
The United Nations has warned of Sudan’s “extreme dire situation,” noting that in just one week, over 60 people, mostly women and children, died from malnutrition in el-Fasher. Humanitarian agencies continue to sound the alarm as famine and violence intensify across the country.