Cairo, Oct 27 (AP) - Notorious paramilitary forces have announced the capture of a key headquarters in the heart of North Darfur's embattled provincial capital, marking the Sudanese military's final defense point in Darfur.
Reports of ongoing fighting in el-Fasher on Monday emerge, with a medical group stating that Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed numerous civilians and decimated health care infrastructure the day before. Hundreds of thousands have been besieged in the city for over a year.
The loss of the 6th Division base signifies a significant blow to the military and allied forces. Clashes persisted Monday morning, centering around the base's airfield and the city's western areas, as reported by Resistance Committees in el-Fasher, a grassroots organization monitoring the conflict. Criticism is directed at the military for their perceived lack of aerial support in countering RSF assaults.
While the military has yet to officially comment on the takeover, military officials confirmed that troops evacuated the base on Sunday, retreating to a new defensive line amid intense shelling and artillery fire from the RSF.
The Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University (HRL) corroborated via satellite imagery that RSF forces advanced to the 6th Division’s headquarters on Sunday, presenting “substantial evidence of close-quarter combat in the vicinity.” In a late Sunday declaration, HRL disclosed potential RSF prisoner captures around the airfield, a central site of military operations.
The Sudan Doctor Network, actively monitoring the conflict, described the RSF offensive as a “heinous massacre,” while noting indiscriminate killings and the destruction of medical facilities vital to the city's survival.
The Darfur Network for Human Rights claimed the detention of over 1,000 civilians by RSF after the base's capture, citing these actions as “systematic targeting of civilians” and potential war crimes. A local journalist, one of the last few in the city, was among those detained, as reported by the Sudanese Journalists Union.
Warnings of possible “mass violations” in el-Fasher have been voiced, echoing earlier atrocities in other Darfur regions during 2023, which resulted in widespread civilian casualties and forced mass displacement.
Tom Fletcher, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, voiced profound concern over civilian casualties and forced displacements in el-Fasher. He emphasized the dire situation of “hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped and terrorized, facing shelling, starvation, and lack of access to food, healthcare, or safety.” He urged for “unhindered and swift humanitarian access” to aid the remaining city population.
Prior to Sunday’s attack, the UN children's agency highlighted that 260,000 civilians, half of whom are children, were enduring “desperate conditions” within the city.
The latest escalation has displaced between 2,500 and 3,000 people, prompting intra-city migrations with potential movement toward other North Darfur zones contingent on security and movement limitations, as specified by the UN migration agency.
El-Fasher stands as the military's last bastion in the Darfur region, having been a focal point for over a year of intense conflict between the Sudanese military and RSF, an entity stemming from the notorious Janjaweed militias that instigated brutality during the Darfur conflict in the 2000s.
Sudan descended into warfare in April 2023 following escalating tensions between the military and RSF, erupting into open confrontations in the capital, Khartoum, and other areas across the northeastern African nation.
This devastating war has resulted in over 40,000 fatalities and has triggered a humanitarian crisis of global proportions, with parts of the nation afflicted by famine. An exodus exceeding 14 million people has been recorded, comprising both internal displacements and crossings into neighboring territories.
Documented atrocities characterize the conflict, including ethnically targeted assaults and rape, as highlighted by the United Nations and various rights organizations. The International Criminal Court has launched investigations into potential war crimes and crimes against humanity. (AP)
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