Sudanese military retain control of Darfur capital in battle against anti-government forces

The RSF-led military incursion into El-Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur province, was reportedly repulsed by the defending Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its partners.

 A member of Sudanese armed forces looks on as he holds his weapon in the street in Omdurman, Sudan, March 9, 2024.  (photo credit: REUTERS/EL TAYEB SIDDIG)
A member of Sudanese armed forces looks on as he holds his weapon in the street in Omdurman, Sudan, March 9, 2024.
(photo credit: REUTERS/EL TAYEB SIDDIG)

Alongside its allied militias, the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group launched an attack Friday on one of Darfur’s provincial capitals, inflaming fears of international observers and residents alike for the safety of the city’s 800,000 inhabitants, many of whom have already been displaced by the conflict.  

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The RSF-led military incursion into El-Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur province, was reportedly repulsed by the defending Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its partners following more than six hours of fierce fighting across the city’s eastern neighborhoods, local officials and residents said.  

RSF gathers forces for full-scale attack on El-Fasher

 A Sudanese national flag is attached to a machine gun of Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). June 22, 2019.  (credit: REUTERS/UMIT BEKTAS)
A Sudanese national flag is attached to a machine gun of Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). June 22, 2019. (credit: REUTERS/UMIT BEKTAS)

The RSF, once a state-backed group under the umbrella of the Sudanese military, has been in open conflict with the internationally recognized government since April of last year following a dispute between the two factions' leaderships.  

Over the last few months, the RSF, leading a coalition of other armed Arab groups, has reportedly been gathering forces to mount a full-scale attack on El-Fasher, a prospect that the United Nations warns would have “devastating consequences.”  

Before Friday’s attack, the RSF-led forces had allegedly already attacked some of El-Fasher's northern neighborhoods and several small villages adjacent to the city.  

Last week, Human Rights Watch published a report claiming that the RSF had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur by waging a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the region’s non-Arab ethnic minorities.