Dozens Killed, Injured in Shelling on Residential Area in Sudan’s El Fasher

Destruction following the shelling in El Fasher, Sudan. (Social media)
Destruction following the shelling in El Fasher, Sudan. (Social media)
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Dozens Killed, Injured in Shelling on Residential Area in Sudan’s El Fasher

Destruction following the shelling in El Fasher, Sudan. (Social media)
Destruction following the shelling in El Fasher, Sudan. (Social media)

Artillery shelling renewed on Tuesday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in western Sudan, targeting hospitals, displacement camps, and residential areas, local sources reported.

The attack resulted in several civilian casualties and dozens of injuries.

Earlier in the morning, Sudanese army warplanes carried out an airstrike on positions held by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the city’s eastern neighborhoods.

The “El Fasher Resistance Committees Coordination” stated on Facebook that the city also came under artillery fire from the RSF. Preliminary reports said at least two people were killed and dozens wounded.

The escalation comes after more than two weeks of reduced fighting between the army, its allied armed groups, and the RSF.

Residents of El Fasher told Asharq Al-Awsat that more people are fleeing the city due to indiscriminate shelling and a blockade that has caused prices to soar and shut down medical services.

The city faces severe shortages of drinking water and food, forcing thousands to seek safer areas.

Sources reported that large military reinforcements have arrived to support the joint forces defending El Fasher against RSF attempts to capture the city and take control of the western region.

In recent weeks, the RSF advanced into the city during heavy fighting and dug defensive trenches near the army's 6th Infantry Division headquarters.

The RSF claimed on X that more than 30 civilians were killed and dozens injured in an army airstrike on a town east of El Fasher.

Official figures show that more than 800 civilians have been killed or injured in El Fasher, which has been engulfed in the conflict between the army and RSF for four months.

The war in Sudan has led to the worst food crisis in the country’s history, with over half of the population suffering from severe hunger.

Millions are facing emergency levels of food insecurity, and over 755,000 people are in catastrophic conditions in Greater Darfur, South and North Kordofan, Blue Nile, Gezira, and Khartoum.

According to the United Nations and humanitarian partners, more than 188,000 people have been killed and over 33,000 injured since the conflict began in April 2023.

Over 10 million people have been displaced, including more than 5 million children, with over 2 million seeking refuge in neighboring countries.



Heads of CIA, MI6 Issue Joint Call for Ceasefire in Gaza

Displaced woman Iqbal Al-Zeidi stands in front of her tent which was torn by an Israeli strike, on the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Displaced woman Iqbal Al-Zeidi stands in front of her tent which was torn by an Israeli strike, on the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
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Heads of CIA, MI6 Issue Joint Call for Ceasefire in Gaza

Displaced woman Iqbal Al-Zeidi stands in front of her tent which was torn by an Israeli strike, on the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Displaced woman Iqbal Al-Zeidi stands in front of her tent which was torn by an Israeli strike, on the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

The heads of the American and British foreign intelligence agencies said Saturday they are “working ceaselessly” for a ceasefire in Gaza, using a rare joint public statement to press for peace.

CIA Director William Burns and MI6 Chief Richard Moore said their agencies had “exploited our intelligence channels to push hard for restraint and de-escalation.”

In an opinion piece for the Financial Times, the two spymasters said a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war “could end the suffering and appalling loss of life of Palestinian civilians and bring home the hostages after 11 months of hellish confinement.”

Burns has been heavily involved in efforts to broker an end to the fighting, traveling to Egypt in August for high-level talks aimed at bringing about a hostage deal and at least a temporary halt to the conflict.

So far there has been no agreement, though United States officials insist a deal is close.

Burns and Moore also stressed the strength of the trans-Atlantic relationship in the face of “an unprecedented array of threats,” including an assertive Russia, an ever-more powerful China and the constant threat from international terrorism — all complicated by rapid technological change.

They highlighted Russia’s “reckless campaign of sabotage” across Europe and the “cynical use of technology to spread lies and disinformation designed to drive wedges between us.”

The article is the first joint opinion piece by the heads of the two spy agencies. The two directors pointed to a new era of openness in their secretive field, noting that the CIA and MI6 both declassified intelligence about Russia’s plan to invade Ukraine before Moscow attacked its neighbor in February 2022.