At least seven people were killed and nine injured on Monday when indiscriminate shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struck Abu Shouk camp for the displaced in El Fasher, North Darfur. 

Darfur Governor, leader of Sudan’s Joint Forces, and head of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, Minni Arko Minawi, condemned the attack as “very regrettable”.

He states that the shelling caused severe injuries among unarmed civilians and called for action to stop further violations.

Radio Dabanga could not verify whether the RSF was targeting military elements within the camp.

In December, RSF spokesperson Lt Col El Fateh Gurashi accused Minawi’s *Joint Forces of using displaced people in Zamzam camp as “human shields,” claiming they were turning the camp into a military base and recruiting civilians.

Famine declared in Abu Shouk Camp 

The UN has warned that famine is taking hold in Abu Shouk, Zamzam, and Hai El Salam camps, as well as the Western Nuba Mountains, affecting 640,000 people.

UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed that “reported shelling in the Abu Shouk displacement camp… killed and injured civilians,” adding that the humanitarian situation is deteriorating.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that famine will spread if aid remains blocked. “It is critical that aid organisations have safe and unimpeded access to people in need,” OCHA stated.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says it needs over $82 million to support 7.5 million farmers with seeds and essential resources before the planting season in June. OCHA stressed that “timely support to Sudan’s farmers is essential, not only to avert famine… but also to restore livelihoods.”

Dujarric warned that time is running out. “With the rainy season starting soon, and flooding along key routes likely to compound access challenges, time is running out.”

‘El Fasher economic woes’

Reports indicate that people in El Fasher are facing severe shortages of food and essentials, with prices soaring.

A bar of soap costs SDG4,500 to SDG5,000, lentils SDG12,000 per kilogram, and rice is unavailable. A single onion sells for SDG1,000, while sugar costs SDG15,000 per kilogram. 

The acting governor of North Darfur, Hafez Bakhit, said the RSF-imposed siege had drastically affected living conditions.

Maj Gen Ahmed Elkhader Saleh, commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces’ Sixth Infantry Division, vowed to break the RSF siege of El Fasher, adding that “victory was looming on the horizon”.

‘40,000 displaced arrive in Nyala’

More than 40,000 displaced people have arrived in South Darfur’s capital of Nyala, after fleeing last week’s fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF in Khartoum.

A volunteer in Nyala described the humanitarian situation as dire, with displaced families sheltering in overcrowded homes and schools. 

He warned of food and medicine shortages, worsening sanitary conditions, and a lack of humanitarian response. He urged authorities and aid agencies to act immediately.

*The Sudanese Joint Force is made up of fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement faction headed by Darfur Governor Minni Minawi (SLM-MM), the JEM faction led by Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim (JEM-JI), and several small rebel groups. These movements formed the Darfur Joint Force in June 2022 as agreed in the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement, to protect the people of Darfur. They renounced their neutrality in November last year and are now fighting against the RSF alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). By ABU SHOUK CAMP / ZAMZAM CAMP / EL FASHER / NYALA, Radio Dabanga