Violent clashes erupt in Sudan's el-Fasher between main army and rival RSF

Violent clashes have erupted between Sudan's main military and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces [RSF] in el-Fasher city of North Darfur state, Sudanese activists said.

"Violent clashes between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces with heavy weapons and artillery," the El-Fasher Resistance Committee said in a statement on Friday.

The statement pointed out that "heavy artillery shells fell randomly on citizens' houses, leading to several injuries."

There has been no comment from the Sudanese army or the RSF on the statement as of yet.

Since early April, clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF have been ongoing.

El-Fasher is the capital of North Darfur State, the centre of the Darfur region, and the only city that has not fallen into the hands of the RSF.

There have been increasing international and UN calls to spare Sudan a humanitarian catastrophe that could push millions into famine and death due to food shortages caused by fighting.

Thousands killed, millions displaced

The war in Sudan broke out on April 15, 2023, over disagreements about integrating RSF into the army between army General Abdel Fattah al Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

Estimates suggest that nearly 16,000 people have been killed in the violence, and around two million people fled the country, mainly to Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.

Around 8.5 million have been displaced internally.

Many rounds of negotiations have been held — mostly mediated by Saudi Arabia and the US — but failed to yield any results or cessation of hostilities.