Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces battered General al-Burhan’s forces (SAF) last major foothold in Darfur before dawn Sunday, opening with heavy artillery at 2 a.m. and advancing from the north and northeast of El Fasher, witnesses said.
The RSF assault, aided by drones circling overhead, reignited front-line combat that had briefly subsided. The Sudanese group, which swept through Nyala, Zalingei, El Geneina and El Daein last year, says seizing El Fasher — headquarters of the SAF’s 6th Infantry Division — will “liberate Darfur from forces loyal to the former regime.”
By late afternoon the RSF held most eastern districts and parts of the south, while SAF units clung to western and northern neighborhoods, the city center and scattered pockets in the south, according to aid workers tracking the battle.
Nearly constant clashes since May 11, 2024, have crippled markets and driven families to survive on ombaz — the pressed residue of groundnuts normally reserved for livestock.
The RSF says it is securing safe corridors for humanitarian convoys and blames SAF shelling for civilian casualties. The SAF gave no immediate comment.
