Dozens of people have been killed in a drone strike at a displacement shelter in el-Fasher, a besieged Sudanese city on the brink of collapse, activists said.
The resistance committee for el-Fasher, made up of local citizens and activists, reported that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hit Dar al-Arqam camp, located within a university, with two drone strikes and eight artillery shells. The RSF has denied its involvement in the attack.
Children, women and the elderly were killed in cold blood, and many were completely burned, a statement from the group reported.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic as rescuers pulled bodies from the rubble.
Sudan Doctors Network reported that 57 individuals were killed in the attack, including 17 children, while activists claim the death toll may be as high as 60.
Overwhelmed hospitals have struggled to treat the wounded, as doctors perform procedures on floors and in hallways.
The RSF has surrounded el-Fasher for the past 17 months, attempting to seize control of the Sudanese army's last stronghold in the Darfur region.
The resistance group pointed out that the situation in El-Fasher has transcended disaster and has bordered on genocide.
The ongoing conflict in Sudan began in 2023 following a power struggle between the top commanders of the RSF and the Sudanese army, leading to one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history.
The army controls most of the north and east, while El-Fasher remains the last significant urban center in Darfur under army control, with the RSF dominating almost all of Darfur and much of Kordofan.
Should El-Fasher fall, the RSF would spread its control over the entire Darfur region and could establish an alternative government.
Recent weeks have seen the RSF intensify its attacks on El-Fasher, suggesting that the city could soon succumb unless military reinforcements are dispatched.
Research indicates that the RSF has completed constructing an earthen wall around El-Fasher, further tightening their siege and complicating civilian escapes.
According to the UN, approximately 250,000 civilians are trapped in El-Fasher, with ongoing strikes on civilian areas potentially constituting war crimes.
Widespread hunger and disease are spreading throughout the city as residents face relentless bombardments alongside diminishing access to food and medical supplies.
Just two days prior, at least 13 individuals lost their lives when the RSF shelled one of the remaining hospitals in El-Fasher.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned the continual killing and injury of civilians, expressing his horror at the RSF's indiscriminate actions.
More than 150,000 people have died in the conflict across the country, with around 12 million displaced from their homes.
