Seven dead and 71 injured in strikes in Darfur

Sunday 31 August 2025 - 16:15

By: Sahili Aya

Seven dead and 71 injured in strikes in Darfur

At least seven people were killed and 71 others injured on Saturday evening in airstrikes in Darfur, western Sudan, a medical source told AFP on Sunday, attributing the attack to paramilitary forces.

The strikes targeted El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, which has been under siege by paramilitaries from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), fighting the army since April 2023.

A source from El-Fasher hospital reported at least seven deaths and 71 injuries, noting that the toll could be higher as it only includes victims admitted to the facility. According to this source and the local resistance committee, the strikes hit several densely populated neighborhoods in the western part of the city, near the airport, which paramilitaries are trying to capture.

The RSF has been besieging El-Fasher since May 2024, after the army regained the capital of North Darfur in March. The paramilitary group has intensified attacks on the city and surrounding displacement camps, including Abu Shouk, where famine has been declared.

El-Fasher, facing the threat of famine, is now largely cut off from the outside world, with no humanitarian aid reaching residents. Witnesses, volunteers, and aid workers have described increasing bombardments, looting, and escalating insecurity in recent weeks. Many residents are digging trenches to protect themselves from shells and stray bullets, while others attempt to flee the city.

The UN has stated that El-Fasher, home to around 300,000 people, has become “the epicenter of children’s suffering.” The war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, plunging Africa’s third-largest country into what the UN calls “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”