At least 13 civilians were killed and 19 others injured in shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in North Darfur, local doctors said on Monday.
The Sudan Doctors Network said the injured people included seven children and a pregnant woman in the attack that targeted residential neighbourhoods of El-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur in western Sudan.
The medical group said several civilians were still trapped amid continued bombardment of the area.
It denounced the RSF attacks as a “full-fledged war crime and a systematic targeting of civilian life, amid shameful international silence and failure to protect hundreds of thousands of residents trapped in the city.”
Calls mount for urgent action
The group appealed to the international community and the UN Security Council to take immediate action to stop attacks on civilians and to provide effective protection for the civilian population and medical workers.
The RSF has imposed a blockade on El-Fasher since May 10, 2024, despite international warnings about the dangers to the city, a hub for humanitarian operations in the five Darfur states.
Since mid-April 2023, clashes between Sudanese army forces and the RSF have killed more than 20,000 people and displaced some 15 million, according to UN and local authorities, while a study by American universities estimates the death toll at approximately 130,000.
