CAIRO (AP) — At least 123 people have been killed in fighting between the Sudanese army and a notorious paramilitary group over a major city in Darfur’s western region in more than two weeks, an international aid group said Sunday.
The fighting in el-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province, also injured more than 930 people during the same period, Doctors Without Borders said.
“This is a sign of the violent intensity of the fighting,” the group said. “We urge the warring parties to do more to protect civilians.”
According to the United Nations, clashes between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces escalated in the city earlier this month, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.
El-Fasher has become the center of conflict between the army and the RSF, which is aided by Arab militias commonly known as janjaweed. The city is the last stronghold still held by the army in the vast Darfur region.
The conflict in Sudan began last April, when rising tensions between military leaders and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.
The conflict killed more than 14,000 people and injured thousands, amid reports of widespread sexual violence and other atrocities that rights groups say amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
It also brought the country’s population to the brink of famine. The UN food agency warned warring sides earlier this month that there is a serious risk of widespread famine and deaths in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they do not allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region.
The RSF has been building up forces in recent months in an attempt to take control of el-Fasher. Together with its Arab militia allies, the RSF laid siege to the city and launched a major attack on its southern and eastern parts earlier this month.
Clashes resumed on Thursday at the Abu Shouk camp for displaced persons in the Salam neighborhood in the northern part of the city, as well as in the southwestern part, the UN International Organization for Migration said. On Saturday, a shell hit the home of a Doctors Without Borders aid worker near the city’s main market, killing the worker, the charity said.
