Atleast 40 people were killed in a brutal assault on Abu Shouk camp in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region, an attack aid groups and local activists blame on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The strike, which took place on Monday, also saw heavy fighting spill into nearby El-Fasher, the last major stronghold of the Sudanese army in Darfur. According to the Abu Shouk Emergency Response Room, victims included residents shot inside their homes and others gunned down in the open.
The UN has warned that El-Fasher’s besieged population faces the threat of starvation, with humanitarian access severely restricted. Sudanese media reported that the camp home to around 200,000 displaced people, was caught in crossfire. But eyewitness accounts and aid workers insist that civilians were deliberately targeted.
The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, which analyses satellite imagery and video, confirmed spotting around 40 light vehicles positioned in the camp’s north-west, matching reports that the attack came from that direction. The organisation said it was reviewing footage allegedly showing RSF fighters shooting at civilians attempting to crawl away while hurling ethnic slurs.
Abu Shouk was established over two decades ago to shelter members of non-Arab communities, including the Fur and Zaghawa, fleeing atrocities by the Janjaweed militia, the RSF’s precursor, which has long been accused of genocide in Darfur.
Zaghawa fighters have since allied with the Sudanese army in defending El-Fasher, raising fears that the RSF deliberately targeted Zaghawa civilians in Monday’s attack.
Camps around El-Fasher have repeatedly come under attack during the two-year civil war between the army and the RSF. In April, more than 100 people were killed in Zamzam camp after RSF forces occupied the site.
Since fighting erupted in April 2023, tens of thousands have been killed, 12 million people displaced, and famine declared in parts of Sudan. The US has sanctioned the RSF, accusing it of genocide and ethnic cleansing, charges the group denies, claiming it is uninvolved in tribal conflicts.
As the humanitarian situation worsens, aid workers warn that without urgent intervention, Darfur’s displaced population faces further massacres, starvation, and the collapse of what little protection remains.