Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a deadly assault Monday on the Abu Shouk displacement camp near el-Fasher, North Darfur, killing at least 40 civilians and injuring 19 others, according to local aid groups and community activists.
The Emergency Response Room, a volunteer network operating across Sudan, reported that RSF fighters stormed the famine-stricken camp, targeting residents inside their homes. The camp, which shelters around 450,000 displaced people, has been repeatedly attacked since the civil war erupted in April 2023.
The Resistance Committees in el-Fasher, a grassroots activist group, condemned the violence, describing it as “horrific violations against innocent, unarmed people.” Satellite imagery from Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab confirmed the presence of approximately 40 RSF vehicles in the camp’s northwest sector. The lab also analyzed footage allegedly showing RSF fighters shooting at civilians and using ethnic slurs.
The Sudanese army, which maintains control over el-Fasher, claimed it repelled a large-scale RSF offensive on Monday, destroying 16 vehicles and capturing 34 others. The RSF, meanwhile, stated on Telegram that it had made territorial gains and seized military equipment, though it offered no further details.
The attack comes amid a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. The United Nations reports that over 60 people mostly women and children died from malnutrition in el-Fasher in just one week. The city and surrounding camps are among the hardest hit by famine, with aid access severely restricted due to ongoing conflict.
In North Kordofan province, the RSF has also been accused of displacing more than 3,000 families from 66 villages since early August. The Sudan Doctors Network said the paramilitary group looted homes, stole livestock, and forced survivors to flee to Khartoum and White Nile provinces. The UN confirmed that 18 civilians were killed and dozens injured in those attacks.
Sudan’s civil war has killed over 40,000 people and displaced more than 12 million, creating what the UN describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis. Despite international calls for peace, the conflict continues to escalate, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence.
