Sudanese Paramilitary Drone Strike Kills 38 in Darfur

The local resistance committee in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, confirmed that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched four high-explosive missiles targeting the city center. The committee, part of the network of volunteer groups providing humanitarian assistance across Sudan, described the attack as part of the ongoing conflict between the RSF and Sudan's regular army.

Since mid-April 2023, the RSF has been locked in fierce combat with Sudan’s national army, with El-Fasher under siege by the paramilitaries since May. The city has become a battleground as both sides vie for control of Darfur, which is largely under RSF control. The RSF has also expanded its presence in southern Kordofan and central Sudan, while the army controls northern and eastern regions. Both forces are currently engaged in a struggle for supremacy in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, located some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) to the east of El-Fasher.

The army-aligned health ministry reported a separate drone strike on Friday that hit the Saudi Hospital in El-Fasher, killing at least nine people and injuring 20 others, prompting the hospital to suspend operations. The strike targeted key areas of the facility, which had already been struggling to operate in the face of ongoing violence.

In response to the escalating attacks on healthcare facilities, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the violence, calling it “deplorable.” He issued a plea for the protection of medical staff and patients and demanded an immediate halt to attacks on health facilities.

The ongoing conflict in Sudan has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced over 11 million people, according to the United Nations, making it one of the world’s most dire humanitarian crises. Both the army and RSF have been accused of indiscriminately targeting civilians, medical facilities, and residential areas, further exacerbating the humanitarian toll.

Last week, Sudan's army conducted one of its deadliest airstrikes in North Darfur, targeting a market and killing over 100 people, according to a pro-democracy lawyers' group.