Deadly attacks on civilians and medical facilities in Darfur

December 18, 2024 (EL FASHER/NYALA) – At least 39 people were killed and wounded in El Fasher, North Darfur, on Wednesday when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled a medical facility and residential areas, according to activists and doctors. Separately, a Sudanese army fighter jet bombed a displacement camp in Nyala, South Darfur, causing further casualties.

El Fasher has witnessed escalating violence in recent weeks as fighting between the army and the RSF intensifies. The RSF aims to seize control of the remaining strongholds of the central government in Darfur.

The El Fasher Resistance Committees reported that shelling of residential areas resulted in 10 deaths and 20 injuries. The Sudanese Doctors Network later confirmed that 18 people were killed and 21 seriously injured when the Saudi Hospital was hit.

The Network condemned the repeated targeting of medical facilities in El Fasher, noting that the Saudi Hospital had been shelled more than four times in recent weeks, along with markets, displacement camps, and civilian homes.

“The hospital is facing a critical humanitarian situation due to the continuous targeting with heavy artillery and missiles and the loss of many of its staff and medical supplies,” the Network said in a statement.

Eyewitnesses reported that the RSF also continued to shell the Zamzam camp south of El Fasher with heavy artillery, setting fire to numerous homes, though no casualties were reported in this incident.

Zamzam camp, which houses nearly two million displaced people, has been under attack by the RSF since the beginning of December, facing a severe humanitarian crisis due to food shortages caused by the RSF blockade.

Airstrike in Nyala

In Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, the Sudanese army continued its air raids on the city, which has been under RSF control since late last year.

Witnesses said the airstrike targeted Nyala Secondary School, which is being used as a shelter for people displaced from El Fasher. At least four people were killed and 12 injured, and the school sustained significant damage.

Nyala Secondary School shelters around 100 families who fled El Fasher in May due to the fighting. Nyala has been repeatedly subjected to aerial bombardment by the army, which claims it is targeting military supplies believed to have been delivered to the RSF by the United Arab Emirates.