Khartoum, Oct 12 (V7N) – At least 53 people, including 14 children and 15 women, were killed when Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a drone strike on a displaced persons shelter in the besieged northern Darfur city of El Fasher. The attack occurred at the Dar al-Arkam center, located within the campus of Omdurman Islamic University, amid ongoing clashes between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), according to the Sudan Doctors Network, a medical advocacy group.

The assault, which took place late Friday night, also left 21 others injured, including five children and seven women. Most of the injured sustained severe injuries, the network reported.

The El Fasher Resistance Committee, a local civil organization, described the incident as a “massacre,” claiming at least 60 fatalities. The committee called for immediate international intervention, stating that children, women, and the elderly were deliberately targeted, with some victims completely burned. They warned that the situation in the city has reached catastrophic levels, approaching the threshold of genocide, yet global response has been muted.

El Fasher is the last major city in western Darfur under the control of the RSF following the SAF’s recapture of Khartoum in March. Since then, RSF attacks on the city have intensified. The two factions have been engaged in a power struggle since April 2023, when a rift emerged between the generals leading the SAF and RSF. Humanitarian agencies have warned that the conflict has created the world’s largest humanitarian emergency. Sources: Al Jazeera, Sudan Doctors Network

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