RSF storms cattle market and prison in 'death trap' Sudanese city

The Sudanese paramilitary radical Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stormed the besieged metropolis of el-Fasher connected Friday successful a conflict that raged for 7 hours, witnesses told the BBC.

RSF fighters managed to seizure a cattle market, a situation and a subject basal portion broadcasting videos of their members walking astir bare stockyards.

It was the archetypal clip RSF fighters had entered the metropolis successful ample numbers since the siege of el-Fasher - an ongoing conflict for power of the occidental Darfur metropolis - began 15 months ago.

On Saturday morning, the service retaliated and succeeded successful pushing the RSF backmost beyond el-Fasher's limits. But Mathilde Vu, from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), described the metropolis arsenic a "death trap".

"What we're proceeding is stories of fearfulness and panic and play shelling, attacks connected civilian infrastructure," Ms Vu told the BBC Newshour programme.

"There are section volunteers - they are truly struggling, risking their lives each time to effort and supply a small spot of nutrient for radical who are mostly starving."

Siddig Omar, a 65-year-old nonmigratory of el-Fasher, told the BBC the RSF entered the metropolis connected Friday from the southbound and south-west.

The RSF, whose fighters person been mustering successful trenches dug astir the city, often onslaught el-Fasher. According to the army, this was their 220th offensive.

But this time, during a conflict that raged for 7 hours, they managed to instrumentality power of the city's livestock market, which has been closed for concern for respective months.

From here, they broadcast videos of their fighters walking astir bare stockyards. They besides concisely held Shalla situation and the office of the military's Central Reserve Forces.

On Saturday morning, the service retaliated and succeeded successful pushing the RSF backmost beyond the metropolis limits, saying it had inflicted "heavy losses" connected the paramilitary group.

But Mr Omar said RSF shelling - utilizing drones - continued passim Saturday.

"One of the shells deed a civilian conveyance adjacent my location resulting successful the decease of 5 civilians who were wrong the car," helium said.

Sudan plunged into a civilian warfare successful April 2023 aft a vicious conflict for powerfulness broke retired betwixt its service and the RSF.

It has led to a famine and claims of a genocide successful the occidental Darfur region.

More than 150,000 radical person died successful the struggle crossed the country, and astir 12 cardinal person fled their homes successful what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

El-Fasher is the lone metropolis successful Darfur present controlled by the military. But a communications blackout makes it hard to corroborate accusation from the besieged city, arsenic lone those with outer net connections are contactable.

• Sudan war: A elemental usher to what is happening
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• BBC smuggles successful phones to el-Fasher to uncover hunger and fear

The latest RSF violative followed weeks of artillery and drone attacks. The radical precocious started utilizing ample drone aircraft.

The service accuses the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of backing the RSF, an allegation the oil-rich Gulf authorities denies.

This weekend's onslaught comes 3 months aft the RSF overran Zamzam campy connected the outskirts of el-Fasher. It had been the largest displacement campy successful the state and galore of its residents either escaped into el-Fashir oregon tried to marque it to Tawila, 60km (about 40 miles) away.

Ms Vu, NRC's advocacy manager successful Sudan, said the squad successful Tawila has continued to perceive horrific stories arsenic radical desperately effort to find safety.

"People fleeing astatine nighttime by foot, connected donkeys - trying to flight equipped men targeting them, possibly raping them," she said.

"We're getting radical arriving into Tawila who are thirsty, who haven't eaten for weeks."

Nearly 379,000 radical person present fled to Tawila, wherever they are facing an outbreak of cholera and expected dense rainfall is apt to destruct makeshift shelters.

This week, residents of el-Fasher told the BBC Arabic's exigency vigor programme much astir their dire situation.

"Right now, we are suffering deeply, and everyone astir america is facing the aforesaid hardship," 1 antheral said.

"There is nary bread, nary food, and nary enactment to beryllium found. Even if you person money, there's thing disposable successful the markets to buy.

"When idiosyncratic gets sick, we can't find immoderate medicine oregon treatment.

"There are nary medicines successful hospitals. The concern present is genuinely terrible."

Another antheral said until recently, residents had been relying connected thing called "ombaz", a nutrient discarded near implicit aft pressing lipid from peanut shells.

"We are successful a precise captious situation," helium said.

"Even ombaz is nary longer available, arsenic the peanut factories person stopped working.

"We are calling retired for assistance - please, we urgently request assistance."

Ms Vu bemoaned the planetary community's apathy erstwhile it came to engaging with the warring parties and their backers.

"The backing is wholly decreasing and the effect is that you tin spot it connected the ground," she said.

"People [in el-Fasher] conscionable trust connected the solidarity of others.

"If they person a small spot of food, they volition beryllium sharing it among themselves."

Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said determination were "reasonable grounds" to judge warfare crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed successful Darfur.

Allegations of warfare crimes person persisted passim the past 2 years, and successful January 2025 the US determined that the RSF and allied militias had committed a genocide against the region's non-Arab population.