At least 40 people have been killed in a devastating attack on the Abu Shouk camp for displaced people in Sudan’s conflict-torn Darfur region, according to aid workers operating inside the camp. The assault, which took place on Monday, was reportedly carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the powerful paramilitary group that has been fighting Sudan’s army in a bloody two-year civil war.
The Abu Shouk Emergency Response Room a humanitarian coordination group working in the camp, confirmed the death toll and said many of the victims were civilians who had been shot inside their homes, while others were gunned down in public. Local resistance committees in the nearby city of El-Fasher, made up of activists and residents, also reported the incident, describing it as one of the deadliest attacks in the region in recent months.
El-Fasher, the last major stronghold in Darfur still under Sudanese army control, has been under relentless assault by the RSF and its allies. The siege has left thousands of families trapped without food or medical aid, with the United Nations warning that starvation is imminent if fighting continues to block humanitarian access.
Sudanese media reported that Monday’s violence began when clashes between the army and RSF spread into the camp, which shelters over 200,000 people displaced by years of ethnic violence. However, aid groups on the ground say the attack appeared to be deliberate, with the RSF advancing from the north in a convoy of at least 40 light vehicles.
The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, a US-based group analyzing satellite imagery, confirmed evidence of heavy RSF presence in the area. Investigators are examining disturbing videos allegedly showing RSF fighters shooting civilians as they crawled away, while using ethnic slurs a possible indication of targeted ethnic violence.
Abu Shouk camp was first established over 20 years ago to shelter members of non-Arab communities such as the Fur and Zaghawa, who had fled attacks by the Janjaweed militia, the very force from which the RSF originated. The Janjaweed was widely accused of genocide during the early 2000s Darfur conflict, and human rights groups say the RSF has continued similar patterns of ethnic cleansing in the current war.
Zaghawa fighters have joined Sudan’s army to defend El-Fasher, raising concerns that RSF forces may be specifically targeting Zaghawa civilians in retaliation. This would not be the first time a displacement camp near El-Fasher has been targeted; in April, over 100 people were killed when the RSF overran Zamzam camp, forcing thousands to flee.
Since Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023, tens of thousands have been killed, more than 12 million people have been displaced, and famine has taken hold in several regions. The US government has sanctioned the RSF over allegations of genocide, while international aid agencies continue to warn that Darfur faces one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the century if the violence is not stopped.
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