Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of carrying out a deadly assault on the famine-hit Abu Shouk displacement camp near El-Fasher, North Darfur, killing at least 40 people and injuring 19, local rights groups report. The camp, which shelters roughly 450,000 people displaced by Sudan’s 16-month civil war, has been repeatedly targeted since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the RSF and Sudan’s army.
Witnesses say RSF fighters stormed parts of the camp on Monday, dragging residents from their homes and opening fire. The Emergency Response Rooms group described the attack as “brutal and deliberate,” while El-Fasher’s Resistance Committees condemned it as a “horrific violation against defenseless civilians.” Satellite imagery from Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) confirmed the presence of around 40 RSF vehicles in the camp’s northwest sector. HRL also verified footage showing fighters shooting civilians and using ethnic slurs. Escape routes out of El-Fasher have reportedly been blocked, trapping thousands.turing 34 others. The RSF, however, said it seized military equipment and advanced its positions. Darfur Governor Mini Arko Minawi declared El-Fasher had “prevailed over those who betrayed their land,” a reference to the RSF.
