At least 10 people were killed and 23 others injured on Wednesday in an artillery bombardment by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the capital of North Darfur, El Fasher. Concurrently, the RSF launched fierce attacks on dozens of villages in an area of North Darfur state controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) faction led by Abdel Wahid Nur.

The security and humanitarian situation in Darfur’s historical capital continues to deteriorate amid ongoing military operations between the Sudanese army, alongside allied armed groups, and the RSF, which seeks to control the last stronghold of the central government in the Darfur region.

A statement issued by the command of the 6th Infantry Division in El Fasher, received by Sudan Tribune, said that “the terrorist rebel militia – in reference to the RSF – continued to target civilians in neighbourhoods and displaced people in shelters with artillery, resulting in the deaths of 10 citizens, including a three-year-old girl, and the injury of 23 others with varying degrees of severity.”

The statement clarified that the armed forces and the joint force, through special operations supported by artillery, were able to destroy five combat vehicles, with their full crews, that were attempting to flee via the Kutum road, the last remaining outlet for enemy elements in the area north of the city.

Sudanese army officials claim three additional mobile battalions were dispatched to El Fasher last week in preparation for large-scale operations in the Darfur region.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) faction led by Minni Minawi, Al-Sadiq Ali Al-Nur, accused the RSF of committing killings that targeted women, children, the elderly, and the sick in villages northeast of Tawila locality in North Darfur state.

Tawila, located in the western part of the North Darfur capital, is under the control of the neutral Sudan Liberation Movement faction led by Abdel Wahid Nur regarding the ongoing war between the army and the RSF.

In recent months, the town has hosted thousands of displaced people who fled El Fasher following the escalation of military operations in the city.

The SLM statement said that the attacking force terrorized civilians, systematically looted all their belongings, and also burned a number of villages.

It stated that the attack on the villages of Tawila is an attempt by the RSF to complicate the humanitarian situation and create a deteriorating humanitarian situation through the forced displacement of the indigenous population and their replacement with new settlers, as has happened previously in various Darfur states.

The statement noted that these attacks and crimes occurred despite the presence of the neutral force, which it said overlooked the crime and did not intervene to protect civilians.

The Sudan Liberation Movement factions led by Abdel Wahid Nur and a faction of the Gathering of the Sudan Liberation Forces (GSLF) headed by Al-Tahir Hajer formed a military force to protect civilians and deliver humanitarian aid to those affected by the military conflict in their areas of control. However, since its formation, the force has faced numerous difficulties, including attacks by the RSF, which caused heavy losses in its ranks.