40 killed and dozens injured in Rapid Support Forces attack on camp in Darfur

In a bloody attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the Abu Shouk displacement camp on the outskirts of El Fasher city in the Darfur region of western Sudan, at least 40 people were killed and more than 19 others were injured, according to a statement issued by the emergency room at the camp.

The attack occurred yesterday, Monday, August 11, when the Rapid Support Forces advanced from the northern side of El Fasher into the camp.

This attack comes amid a continuous siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces on the city of El Fasher and the surrounding refugee camps since May 2024, after they took control of the nearby Zamzam camp in April of the same year.

This military campaign led the United Nations to declare famine in December 2024 in three displacement camps near El Fasher, namely Zamzam, Abu Shouk, and Al-Salam.

The recent attack has forced around 400,000 displaced people to flee, leading to the emptying of one of the largest refugee camps in Sudan.

The escalation of violence is attributed to the Rapid Support Forces moving westward after the Sudanese army regained control of Khartoum in March 2025, focusing their operations in Darfur and Kordofan.

These developments come amid one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, as the war that erupted in Sudan since April 2023 has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands and the displacement of more than 13 million people inside and outside the country, according to the United Nations and AFP.