Khartoum – The city of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, witnessed a new escalation of fighting on Thursday between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with both sides exchanging drone strikes and artillery fire amid growing fears for civilians, especially those in areas near displaced persons’ camps.
According to field sources, the army carried out concentrated airstrikes targeting RSF positions and gatherings southwest of El-Fasher, destroying ammunition depots, tanks, and sites near the Zamzam displaced persons camp.
The Coordination of Resistance Committees in El-Fasher reported that the RSF had turned the camp into a military base after forcibly displacing its original inhabitants.
Video clips showed plumes of smoke rising over the city as a result of airstrikes carried out by army warplanes on RSF military sites.
Simultaneously with the air raids, ground clashes broke out in the northeastern and southeastern axes of the city, amid heavy artillery bombardment and the flight of drones over the combat zones, according to the Resistance Committees in El-Fasher.
The committees added that army forces, backed by allied armed movements, remain positioned in advanced defensive locations, while the RSF continues to launch drone attacks and heavy artillery shelling that has struck residential neighborhoods inside the city.
Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration estimated that around 1,640 people were displaced from El-Fasher on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 23–24, due to insecurity.
In a statement, it said the displaced moved to other sites within El-Fasher, stressing that “the humanitarian situation remains extremely tense and volatile.”
Airstrikes target areas near Zamzam camp
This escalation comes at a time of mounting concern over worsening humanitarian conditions in El-Fasher and its surroundings, with fighting continuing, no safe corridors for the delivery of humanitarian aid, and repeated international warnings of the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged city.
The RSF has imposed a siege on El-Fasher since May 2024, while army forces backed by armed movements remain stationed at their garrison inside the city, amid fierce hit-and-run battles.
According to satellite images published by the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University, RSF forces have advanced toward strategic positions in El-Fasher.
The images show RSF fighters approaching El-Fasher airport, which now serves as an army base.
Sudanese expert Muhannad al-Nur, from the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, told Agence France-Presse: “If the RSF succeeds in seizing the army’s main headquarters (located near the airport), it could mean complete control of the city,” warning of “a horrific catastrophe, where terrible crimes may be committed.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan, along with eyewitnesses, reported that civilians attempting to flee have been subjected to killings, abductions, and sexual violence.
The United Nations has declared famine in the refugee camps surrounding El-Fasher, while the city is also witnessing an outbreak of cholera.
Local sources also reported that the city of El-Obeid, in North Kordofan State, was hit by drone strikes carried out by the RSF, with limited damage reported and relative calm returning later.
In South Kordofan, the RSF and its ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, are besieging the state capital Kadugli and the city of Dilling, holding around half a million civilians inside the two cities.
The RSF has been targeting oil infrastructure, bombing the Heglig oil refinery last month, impacting exports of a resource that provides a vital source of revenue for Sudan’s army-aligned government.
Relief sources warn of a sharp rise in food prices, increasing malnutrition especially among children, and the inability of many residents to afford basic goods such as rice, oil, and sugar.
Al-Quds Al-Arabi
