Khaberni - Sudanese military sources stated today, Monday, that the army confronted a widespread attack launched by the Rapid Support Forces on the city of Al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur State, while the Sudan Doctors Network reported the death of 13 people and the injury of 19 others in a bombing carried out by the Rapid Support Forces there.
The sources explained to Al Jazeera that the Sudanese army confronted the attack on Al-Fashir, after violent battles that saw the use of heavy weapons by both sides and lasted for hours since dawn today, Monday.
A military source told Al Jazeera that the Rapid Support forces launched a widespread attack on the army's defenses from several fronts in the city, noting that the Rapid Support Forces carried out intensive bombardment with rockets and drones before clashing with army forces in battles described by the source as fierce in several neighborhoods of the city.
Dead and Injured
The Sudan Doctors' Network announced the killing of 13 civilians and the injury of 19 others (including 7 children and a pregnant woman) as a result of artillery shelling by the Rapid Support Forces on neighborhoods in the city of Al-Fashir.
The network - in a statement - clarified that there are many corpses along with injured people trapped - unknown number in the targeted areas - due to the ongoing bombing and clashes and the difficulty of reaching them.
The shelling has been described as a war crime and systematic targeting of civilians, amid severe health deterioration and most medical facilities being out of service, and called on the international community for urgent intervention to protect civilians and open humanitarian corridors.
No comment has been issued from the Rapid Support Forces, which are accused of using artillery and drones against civilians in the city besieged since May 2024.
Hemetti: I will return to Khartoum
In turn, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo "Hemetti", accused the Sudanese army yesterday, Sunday, of planning the current war in Sudan for the past 4 years.
Hemetti added that the issue of integrating the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan had been agreed upon, and that those he described as Islamists had tried to block the framework agreement by igniting the war in the country, according to his statement. He also vowed to return to the capital, Khartoum.
These developments come amid continuous military escalation for over a year, where Al-Fashir is experiencing a severe siege and escalating humanitarian crisis. International reports have warned of plans for widespread attacks using drones that could increase the suffering of civilians and exacerbate the humanitarian disaster in Darfur.
Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces have been engaged in a war that has resulted in more than 20,000 deaths and displaced and forced about 15 million people into refuge, according to the United Nations and local authorities.
