Khartoum – Heavy fighting continued for a second day in the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, with intense artillery shelling and drone airstrikes worsening the humanitarian situation and causing civilian casualties.
The El Fasher Resistance Committees Coordination said on Tuesday that Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched an assault on the city’s northern neighborhoods, killing several civilians and abducting others from their homes in what it described as “horrific crimes.” It added that the attack targeted the Al-Shorfa district in northern El Fasher, where killings and arrests were carried out under mysterious circumstances.
The committees stressed that the fierce battles have not broken “the steadfastness of El Fasher’s residents,” despite the ongoing siege imposed on the city since May 2024, which has led to power and water cuts and severe shortages of food and medical supplies.
Meanwhile, local sources reported the death of an RSF field commander, Salem Saleh Issa, during the ongoing clashes in the city.
The latest attacks on El Fasher are being led by Abdel Rahim Dagalo, deputy commander of the RSF and brother of its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti.” Observers say these operations aim to seize El Fasher as the last remaining stronghold of the Sudanese Armed Forces in the Darfur region, and to block any military efforts to recapture territory held by the RSF in western Sudan.
In response, the Sudanese Armed Forces are attempting to open a land corridor from the Kordofan states to El Fasher in a bid to break the more than year-long military siege on the city.
Politically, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy to Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, continues to hold meetings with Sudanese parties as part of international efforts to contain the crisis. On Tuesday he met with Darfur governor Minni Arko Minnawi and the Democratic Bloc to discuss developments in the region and ongoing UN efforts.
Lamamra emphasized that there is an international mobilization to improve the humanitarian situation in El Fasher, noting that UN Secretary-General António Guterres has presented proposals to the Security Council on Sudan, and that the United Nations is working to “influence international positions” linked to the crisis.
For his part, Darfur governor Minni Minnawi confirmed that the humanitarian situation in the region is being prioritized, expressing satisfaction at what he described as “international concern for Sudan’s unity, security, and stability.”
The Democratic Bloc, however, voiced concern about Lamamra’s meetings with certain representatives of the RSF, arguing that it could be seen as interference in Sudan’s internal affairs.
Bloc spokesperson Mohamed Zakaria said they stressed during the meeting the importance of continuing international mediation efforts without bypassing the will of the Sudanese people. He called for “a more active role from the African Union, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt to better understand the nature of Sudan’s crisis.”
Source: Al-Quds Al-Arabi
