Death toll from Rapid Support Forces attack on Sudan refugee camp rises to 74

KHARTOUM, Sudan/ANKARA

The Sudanese army confirmed on Saturday that the death toll from the ongoing attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Zamzam refugee camp in El Fasher, the capital of Darfur, rose to 74, up from 25 reported the previous day.

The RSF’s assault on the camp entered its second day, with reports of continued fighting and attacks, according to local sources.

The Sudanese army stated that the camp was attacked twice on Friday. The first attack, from the western side of the camp, was repelled by the army and supporting forces. The second attack, however, resulted in the RSF setting fire to several homes and killing civilians within the camp.

The army confirmed that 74 people had been killed and 17 others wounded as a result of the RSF’s assault.

The Sudanese government also issued a statement “condemning the attack which targeted innocent civilians.”

In a separate statement, the General Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur, a civilian group, expressed grave concern, reporting that another attack had occurred on Saturday morning.

The organization described the situation as “extremely critical” for the displaced and innocent civilians in the region.

Local resistance committees in El Fasher also reported on Saturday that the RSF had launched a renewed attack on the camp, which lasted for more than three hours.

The local committees further stated that many students at a traditional Quranic school, known as Khalwa Sheikh Farah, were killed during the attack, along with medical personnel working in the camp’s hospitals and clinics.

There had been no comment from the RSF regarding the ongoing assault.

Since April 15, 2023, the RSF has been battling the Sudanese army for control of the country, resulting in thousands of deaths and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

More than 20,000 people have been killed and 15 million others displaced, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US scholars, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.

The military reclaimed the capital Khartoum last month, but the civil war still continues.