Khartoum, March 13 (IANS) At least 10 people were killed and 23 others injured in shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on residential neighbourhoods and a shelter center in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in western Sudan, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) said.
“In a new escalation of their crimes against civilians, the rebel militia shelled neighborhoods in El Fasher city and a shelter center with 37 120-mm artillery shells,” the SAF’s 6th Infantry Division said in a statement.
“This attack led to the death of 10 civilians, including a 3-year-old girl, and left 23 others injured, some with serious wounds, who were transferred to medical facilities for treatment,” the statement added.
The RSF also launched drones targeting key sites within El Fasher, but the army’s air defence successfully shot them down, the SAF said.
There was no immediate comment from the RSF regarding the attack in El Fasher, Xinhua news agency reported.
El Fasher has been the site of fierce clashes between the SAF and the RSF since May 10 last year.
Sudan has been gripped by a devastating conflict between the SAF and the RSF since mid-April 2023, which has claimed at least 29,683 lives, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a crisis monitoring group cited by the United Nations.
The conflict has also displaced over 15 million people, both inside and outside Sudan, according to estimates by the International Organization for Migration.
–IANS
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