More than 60 killed in bombing targeting a shelter for displaced people in El Fasher

Local relief committees in the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, announced on Saturday that at least 60 civilians were killed in an attack targeting a shelter for displaced people inside Dar Al-Arqam school.

"El Fasher Resistance Committees" stated that the attack was carried out by two drones and more than eight incendiary shells, resulting in dozens of casualties among women, children, and the elderly, in addition to bodies still trapped under the rubble.

The committees accused the Rapid Support Forces of being responsible for the bombing, while no official comment had been issued from them by Saturday afternoon.

The Rapid Support Forces often assert that they avoid targeting civilians, despite documentation by local and international organizations of widespread violations during the ongoing war for more than two and a half years.

The incident comes amid a suffocating siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces on the city of El Fasher since May 2024, making it a critical humanitarian hotspot as it serves as the relief operations center for the five Darfur states.

According to the United Nations, the war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023 has resulted in the deaths of more than 20,000 people and the displacement or refuge of about 15 million, while an American academic study estimated the actual death toll to be around 130,000.