At least 542 civilians have been killed in Sudan’s North Darfur State over the past three weeks, but “the actual death toll is likely much higher,” according to a statement issued today (Thursday) by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
Commenting on the situation in Sudan, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a two-year war with the Sudanese army, Türk stated:
“The escalating tragedy in Sudan knows no bounds. In just the past three days, RSF forces launched coordinated attacks from several directions on the besieged city of El Fasher and the Abu Shouk camp for displaced persons, killing at least 40 civilians. This brings the confirmed civilian death toll in North Darfur over the past three weeks to at least 542, though the actual number is likely much higher.”
El Fasher Massacre
Earlier, activists reported that at least 165 civilians were killed in attacks carried out by RSF forces over the past ten days on the city of El Fasher, which they are besieging in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
The RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese army since April 2023, bombarded El Fasher — the capital of North Darfur State — with more than 750 mortar shells, rocket launchers, tanks, and heavy artillery, according to the El Fasher Resistance Committees Coordination, a volunteer group involved in aid coordination in Sudan.
The group stated that the death toll was documented by “health facilities that received the wounded and victims,” describing the incident as a “bloody massacre against the defenseless residents of El Fasher.”
The coordination group also noted that field testimonies indicate “the actual number of martyrs is far higher, as many were killed instantly at the sites of the shelling and could not be transported to hospitals.”
In recent weeks, RSF fighters have intensified their attacks on El Fasher, the last major city in the Darfur region (west) still under the control of the Sudanese army, while the United Nations and international observers warn of atrocities that may be taking place on a large scale.
