Nyala – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalated their artillery attacks on the city of El Fasher over the past week, despite UN calls for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow the delivery of aid to the city’s residents.
Local sources indicated that the market targeted by the shelling was the Neivasha Market in Abu Shouk Camp within the city.
Meanwhile, reports from institutions affiliated with the International Organization for Migration revealed that nearly 782,000 people have been displaced from El Fasher city and Zamzam IDP Camp since the outbreak of war between the Sudanese army and the RSF on April 15, 2023, marking one of the largest waves of internal displacement the country has witnessed in the past two years.
According to the organization’s report, Zamzam Camp alone recorded the displacement of 498,955 people during April and May 2025, representing about 99% of its previously registered population. The RSF took control of the camp last April after a series of attacks, resulting in a massive wave of displacement toward safer areas inside Sudan, primarily Tawila (75%) and El Fasher (10%), while increasing numbers of IDPs crossed into Chad.
As of June 29, 2025, the number of displaced persons from Zamzam Camp reached about 436,685, distributed across 26 areas in four Sudanese states, while the number of Sudanese refugees in Chad since the beginning of the war has exceeded 1.1 million, with a daily average of 1,000 refugees, most of them from North Darfur.
The organization also recorded 14 new displacement incidents from El Fasher city and Abu Shouk Camp between late April and June, resulting in the displacement of 24,710 individuals, most of whom have been repeatedly displaced before crossing the border into Chad. The RSF continues to demand that residents leave El Fasher, considering Abu Shouk Camp a legitimate target due to the presence of armed movements inside, amid ongoing artillery shelling, drone attacks, a lack of basic goods, and sharply rising prices.
IDPs in El Fasher face harsh humanitarian conditions, including the absence of shelter despite rainfall, consuming expired goods, and using ash to wash clothes due to the lack of soap. Organization data indicates that North Darfur State recorded the highest number of displacement incidents between April 2023 and June 2025, with 117 incidents, 85% of which were linked to armed clashes and 15% to natural disasters such as floods and fires.
By the end of June, the number of internally displaced persons in North Darfur reached about 1.79 million, equivalent to 18% of Sudan’s total displaced population, making the state second only to South Darfur. El Fasher is among the most affected areas, with more than 10% of the country’s total displaced coming from there, amid expectations that displacement will continue toward Tawila, Mellit, and Kutum localities, and extend to other states such as Central and East Darfur, as well as ongoing refugee flows to Chad, which may be impacted by heavy rains and flooding in the coming months.
Al-Yurea/ Darfur 24
