Deadly strikes on El Fasher shelter kill dozens

At least 60 people have been killed in a series of drone and artillery strikes on a displacement shelter in the besieged city of El Fasher, western Sudan, according to local activists. The attacks targeted the Dar al-Arqam displacement centre and were carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, Resistance Committee for El Fasher reported.

In a statement, the Resistance Committee for El Fasher said the site was hit twice by drones and eight times by artillery fire over two days. “Children, women, and the elderly were killed in cold blood, and many were completely burned,” the statement read. “The situation has gone beyond disaster and genocide inside the city, and the world remains silent.”

The Sudan Doctors’ Network, a group of doctors that documents violence, reports humanitarian crises, and advocates for the protection of civilians and healthcare workers, confirmed at least 53 deaths, including 14 children and 15 women. The group described the assault as a “massacre.” The organization previously accused the RSF of committing war crimes.

El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has been under siege by the RSF and allied militias since April 2024. The city is one of the last major strongholds of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Darfur. The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), has encircled the city, cutting off key supply routes and isolating it from the rest of the country.

The ongoing blockade has created a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Food, fuel, and medicine are scarce, prices for basic goods have skyrocketed, and hospitals are overwhelmed. Civilians face daily bombardments and attacks, while aid agencies have been largely unable to deliver relief due to restricted access.

Just days before the displacement camp attack, a hospital in El Fasher was shelled by RSF forces, killing at least 12 civilians and wounding 17 others, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Network. Among the injured were a female physician and a nurse.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) condemned the attack, stating that it “strongly condemns recent reported attacks in El Fasher, North Darfur. Artillery shelling reportedly carried out by the Rapid Support Forces on Tuesday and Wednesday struck the Saudi Hospital and a mosque where displaced families were sheltering, killing at least 20 civilians. The Saudi Hospital is the last functioning medical facility in the city, serving thousands of war-affected people.”

U.S senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos also condemned “the reported RSF attack on besieged El Fasher’s last remaining hospital and nearby mosque, which killed and injured civilians, including doctors and nurses,” adding, “There is no excuse for targeting places of worship, hospitals, and civilians. The conflict has gone on for too long, taking innocent lives daily through attacks and famine. The belligerents must recognize there is no military solution and bring this conflict to an end.”

The RSF, accused of numerous war crimes since the conflict began in April 2023, continues to face accusation of war crimes. The broader war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF has killed more than 150, thousands and displaced millions, pushing Sudan into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Despite repeated appeals from the UN and humanitarian agencies for safe corridors and a ceasefire, the blockade remains in place.

On September 30, Sudan’s army conducted its first supply airdrop in nearly five months to its besieged 6th Infantry Division base in El Fasher, delivering ammunition, food, and medicine. A second airdrop followed on October 7, 2025, when two Antonov aircraft delivered additional supplies without interception.

As the siege of El Fasher intensifies, reports indicate an intense increase in attacks on civilians. With essential supplies dwindling and hospitals teetering on the brink of collapse, international observers warn that the city faces a risk of mass starvation and disease if the blockade is not lifted. Humanitarian organizations continue to demand immediate and unfettered access to deliver critical aid, yet no significant progress has been made in easing the siege. As a result, hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped in increasingly desperate and life-threatening conditions.