PORT SUDAN: At least 20 people were killed and 32 others injured when Sudanese paramilitaries fired artillery at a camp for displaced people in the country’s Darfur region, a local committee said.
The shelling occurred at the Abu Shouk displacement camp, located near the city of El-Fasher. “The information we have received so far on casualties among residents of Abu Shouk displacement camp is at least 20 killed and 32 wounded,” the local resistance committee in El-Fasher said.
The local resistance committee reported that the attack targeted the camp’s market and communal square. The timing of the assault has not been specified, but the committee described the shelling as a deliberate act by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group engaged in a prolonged siege of El-Fasher.
El-Fasher, the last major city in Darfur not under RSF control, has been surrounded by the paramilitary group since May in an attempt to capture it.
The ongoing conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has led to one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. The violence has displaced millions and resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. The conflict has severely disrupted food aid and other essential services.
The Zamzam camp, located about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the Sudan-Chad border, has been particularly hard-hit. The United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification review has reported that Zamzam is facing famine conditions. The camp, housing approximately half a million people, has seen little to no aid due to the blockade and security situation.
The World Food Programme (WFP) recently managed to send a convoy carrying approximately 205 tonnes of food assistance to around 17,000 people in the region. This convoy marked the second delivery since the Sudanese government reopened the Adre crossing with Chad earlier this month, which had previously been closed.
WFP spokeswoman Alessandra Velluci emphasized the critical nature of the aid effort but also highlighted the immense challenges still facing the region. The slow and limited distribution of assistance remains a significant concern for humanitarian agencies.
