Drone Strike on Sudanese Market in El-Fasher Claims 15 Lives

A drone strike on a market in the besieged Sudanese city of El-Fasher killed 15 people and injured 12 others, three of them critically, according to a local medical worker speaking to AFP on Wednesday. The medic requested anonymity for safety reasons.

The local resistance committees, groups that coordinate aid and document atrocities in the ongoing Sudanese conflict, described the attack as a “massacre”, claiming a total of 27 people were either killed or wounded. They accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of carrying out the strike.

The humanitarian crisis in El-Fasher continues to worsen. US Africa envoy Massad Boulos expressed hope that aid would soon reach the city: “Hopefully, in the coming few days, we will start seeing the flow of this much-needed aid,” he said.

The RSF is reportedly conducting its strongest offensive yet to seize El-Fasher, which it has besieged since May last year. Boulos added: “In this case, the RSF, we’ve been talking to them, and we’ve agreed on a way to allow this humanitarian aid to go in. So it’s taking shape as we speak.”

The war between the RSF and the regular army, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.

El-Fasher, a key city in Darfur, has been heavily bombarded by the RSF, whose fighters have overrun displaced persons’ camps surrounding the city.

• Estimated trapped population: 260,000 civilians
• Children proportion: Approximately 50%
• Aid access: Almost completely cut off

On Friday, a previous RSF drone strike on a mosque in El-Fasher killed at least 75 people, including 11 children aged six to 15, according to the UN children’s agency.

Medical staff at El-Fasher hospital report a severe shortage of supplies, using bits of mosquito net as bandages due to lack of gauze. The medic said: “The most painful thing is watching the wounded suffer in pain, and we don’t have the medicine to treat them.”

El-Fasher remains the last city in Darfur under army control. Its capture would give the RSF control of all major population centres in the western region.

The RSF and its allies face accusations from the UN and human rights organisations of committing atrocities against non-Arab ethnic groups. Among the affected communities are the Zaghawa, who form the majority of fighters in the Joint Forces alliance supporting the army in El-Fasher.

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in El-Fasher underscores the urgent need for aid corridors and international intervention to prevent further civilian casualties.