Tensions flared once again between the Sudanese army and rival paramilitaries this week in El-Fasher, a crucial town in Darfur, resulting in at least 27 fatalities in a single day, as reported by the United Nations on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses detailed a barrage of air strikes, artillery bombardments, and machine gun battles that have rocked the city since Friday. A prolonged skirmish on Friday displaced around 850 individuals, according to U.N. estimates.
The U.N. indicated that at least 27 lives were lost on that fateful day, although the exact figure remains unconfirmed due to severe communication disruptions in the city. Medical personnel and human rights advocates are struggling to relay updates to the outside world amidst the blackout.
Reports from Sunday suggest that the violence has persisted, with eyewitnesses citing ongoing air strikes and artillery assaults that have engulfed residential areas in flames, according to one resident interviewed by newsmen.
Tragically, on Saturday, two children and a caregiver were killed in an intensive care unit following a nearby military air strike, as reported by the French medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The conflict, which erupted in April last year, pits the Sudanese army, led by de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The RSF has seized control of four out of five state capitals in the vast Darfur region, which spans an area similar to that of France and is inhabited by about a quarter of Sudan’s population of 48 million.
El-Fasher stands as the last major city in Darfur that remains beyond paramilitary authority. The international community, including the United Nations and the United States, has been issuing warnings for weeks about an imminent assault on the city.
