Intensifying Sudan Civil War... Over 100 Killed in Two Days Amid Rebel Encirclement Attacks

Communication Cut Off at Zamzam Refugee Camp
Stockpiled Food Expected to Run Out Soon

As the civil war intensifies in Sudan, Africa, the United Nations reported on the 12th (local time) that over 100 people, including 20 children, are estimated to have died within two days due to attacks by rebel forces besieging El Fasher, the center of West Darfur.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Sudanese rebel paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a joint ground and air attack on El Fasher and nearby refugee camps in Zamzam and Abu Shouk on the 11th.

El Fasher, located in North Darfur State, is the only capital among the five states in the Darfur region that has not fallen to the RSF rebels.

According to initial counts by the Resistance Committee, a local volunteer group in El Fasher reported by AFP, 32 civilians died in El Fasher and 25 in Zamzam on the 11th.

However, according to the government forces' announcement on the 12th, 74 civilians died and 17 were injured in El Fasher alone.

Local activists told AFP that the damage situation at the Zamzam refugee camp remains uncertain due to communication outages.

The Sudanese civilian protection organization reported that among the deceased, nine were humanitarian workers who worked at a hospital in Zamzam operated by an international non-governmental organization.

Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, stated that these individuals died during attacks while operating one of the very few medical facilities still functioning and demanded an immediate halt to attacks on relief facilities.

Quiet refugee shelter scene, provided by Yonhap News

Videos showing civilians who died in the attack on the Zamzam refugee camp have been shared by activists, but the RSF claims the videos are fabricated.

Local activist groups reported that the attack on the Zamzam refugee camp resumed on the morning of the 12th and continued for several hours.

The Zamzam refugee camp ran out of food last year, and nearby Abu Shouk and Al Salam refugee camps also ran out of food in December last year.

It is expected that the stockpiled food in El Fasher will be depleted next month.

Since gaining independence in 1956, Sudan has experienced frequent civil wars and political instability. The power struggle between General Abdel Fattah Burhan, the top military leader, and RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo led to armed clashes between government forces and the RSF in April 2023, resulting in a continued state of civil war.

Since the outbreak of the civil war, the RSF has controlled most of the western Darfur region and once occupied the national capital, Khartoum, but was pushed back by government forces in the central and eastern regions and relinquished Khartoum to government forces at the end of last month.

As a result, the Sudanese government controls the eastern and northern regions, while the RSF rebels control the western and southern regions, creating a standoff.

The ongoing civil war in Sudan has resulted in over 28,000 deaths and more than 12 million refugees, with an estimated 3.5 million people fleeing to neighboring countries such as Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan.