At least 40 people were killed on Monday in an attack on the Abu Shouk camp for displaced persons in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region, according to an aid group operating in the area.
The Abu Shouk Emergency Response Room alleged that the assault was carried out by fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A local resistance committee in nearby El-Fasher city, comprising residents and activists, confirmed the reports.
El-Fasher, the last major army stronghold in Darfur, has faced heavy attacks amid the ongoing two-year conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The United Nations has warned that civilians trapped in the besieged city are facing starvation.
While some Sudanese media outlets reported that the camp was caught in crossfire, aid workers inside Abu Shouk — home to over 200,000 people — said many victims were deliberately targeted, with some shot inside their homes and others gunned down in public.
The US-based Yale Humanitarian Research Lab said satellite images showed about 40 light vehicles in the camp’s north-western neighbourhoods, supporting accounts that the attack came from the north. The organisation is also investigating footage allegedly showing RSF fighters shooting at civilians attempting to crawl away while using ethnic slurs.
Abu Shouk camp was established over 20 years ago for non-Arab communities, including the Fur and Zaghawa, fleeing attacks by the Janjaweed militia — a group from which the RSF later emerged. The RSF has faced repeated accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur, which it denies, claiming it is not involved in tribal conflicts.
Analysts suggest the RSF may have been deliberately targeting Zaghawa civilians, as Zaghawa fighters have joined the army in defending El-Fasher.
Displacement camps around El-Fasher have frequently come under attack during the war. In April, more than 100 people were killed and thousands fled Zamzam camp after RSF forces occupied it.
Since the war began in April 2023, tens of thousands of people have been killed, 12 million displaced, and famine declared in parts of Sudan.
