Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has launched a deadly attack on a famine-hit camp for displaced people in Darfur, resulting in the deaths of at least 40 civilians. The RSF stormed Abu Shouk camp on Monday, opening fire inside homes and on the streets, according to the local Emergency Response Room. The rescue group reported that civilians were “killed either by stray bullets or direct executions” at the camp, located on the northern outskirts of el-Fasher, the last major city in Darfur still held by the Sudanese army.
The local resistance committee, a pro-democracy volunteer group, confirmed the toll of at least 40 killed in Monday’s attack, condemning the “horrific violations being committed against innocent, unarmed people”. This attack is the latest in a series of renewed RSF attacks on el-Fasher and nearby displacement camps after the paramilitary was pushed out of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, by the army in March. A major RSF offensive in April on the Zamzam camp displaced tens of thousands of people, with many seeking shelter in el-Fasher.
The war between Sudan’s army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions, and created what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis. The conflict has effectively split the country in two, with the army holding the north, east, and centre, while the RSF dominates nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south. Last year, famine was declared in three camps around el-Fasher, including Abu Shouk, and the UN warned it could spread to the city by May. However, data shortages have prevented an official declaration.
At a community kitchen in el-Fasher, organisers reported that some children and women arrive with swollen bellies, sunken eyes, and signs of acute malnutrition. Meanwhile, in North Kordofan state, the RSF has been accused of displacing over 3,000 families from 66 villages due to fighting since early August, with reports of looting, theft, and livestock seizure. The recent attacks on villages in the province killed 18 civilians and injured dozens, according to the UN.
The international community has expressed concern over the situation in Sudan, with the UN estimating that nearly 25 million people are experiencing extreme hunger. The conflict has led to a massive humanitarian crisis, with widespread hospital closures, disease outbreaks, mass displacement, looting of humanitarian supplies, and the collapse of infrastructure.