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.
