More than 700 civilians have been killed in el-Fasher, a city in Sudan’s North Darfur state, since May, according to the United Nations human rights chief. The UN has documented at least 782 civilian deaths and over 1,143 injuries, citing evidence from interviews with those who fled the area.
The violence is attributed to regular and intensive shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of densely populated residential areas, as well as recurrent air attacks by the Sudanese Armed Forces. The UN has warned that such attacks may amount to war crimes.
The conflict in Darfur has triggered a humanitarian crisis, with over 12 million people displaced and aid agencies struggling to deliver relief. Observers fear an RSF victory could lead to ethnic retribution, exacerbating the crisis.
Recent attacks on civilians have been particularly devastating, including paramilitary shelling on a hospital that killed nine people last week and left 20 wounded. A drone attack also killed at least 38 people in the city centre on Sunday.
The UN human rights chief has urged both sides to end the fighting and has called for international intervention to prevent further attacks. The World Health Organization has condemned the killings of three WFP staff members, calling for an immediate ceasefire and a thorough investigation into the incident.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/20/more-than-700-killed-in-siege-of-sudans-el-fasher-un-says