The United Nations said last month that the Paramilitary Rapid Assistance Force (RSF) launched a 10-day attack in the besieged city of Fashir in Sudan, killing at least 91 people.
At the time of the attack, the fighting between the RSF and the Sudanese army around the city was escalating. As the largest city center in the Darfur region, Fashir is currently under the control of the Sudanese army and its allies and has been besieged by the RSF for more than a year.
In recent weeks, the RSF has launched a new offensive against the city, raising concerns about potential atrocities.
RSF attacks cause numerous casualties, mosque attacks raise public anger
UN Human Rights Chief Wolf Turke said on Thursday that between September 19 and 29, RSF attacks were repeatedly carried out in the Dalai Lama district of the city of Fashil, using artillery, drone attacks and ground invasions.
Last month, the city’s Saphia Mosque was attacked by a drone during Dawn Prayer, killing at least 78 people, an attack blamed on the RSF.
The Yale Humanitarian Laboratory said through satellite imagery and analysis that the ammunition used in the attack was likely RSF's suicide drone because "there were no obvious ground traces or craters in the mosque, indicating that the ammunition exploded when it hit the mosque roof."
Furthermore, a medical officer in Fashir told AFP that the city was hit by artillery and drones on Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding 10 others.
260,000 civilians trapped for 500 days, and the humanitarian crisis is on the verge of collapse
The capital of North Darfur state, El Fasher has been under siege by the RSF for nearly 500 days, one of the longest-lasting sieges in modern urban warfare. At present, more than 260,000 civilians are still trapped in the city, unable to get enough food, water and medical supplies.
Sarah Majdub, a former United Nations expert on Syria, recently wrote a commentary for the Guardian: "The small amount of food left is out of reach for most people. 2 kilograms of millet sells for US$100, and 1 kilogram of sugar or flour sells for US$80, compared with the previous average monthly salary of only US$70."
Because the RSF almost completely surrounded El Fasher and dug a 68-kilometer-long (42-mile) berm around the city, civilians had to concentrate near the main Sudanese army positions in the north and were unable to escape.
Civilians who try to escape often risk their lives to nearby camps for displaced persons, and human rights groups report that the RSF has violated and killed people trying to leave El Fasher. Mukesh Kapila, professor of global health and humanitarian affairs at the University of Manchester, told Al Jazeera that the situation in El Fasher was "extremely serious" and the trapped residents were in a difficult situation."There are very few routes out of El Fasher, and the situation in surrounding refugee camps may not be better. Some refugee camps have declared a state of famine."
Volker Turke also noted that the RSF continued to arbitrarily restrict the shipment of food and necessities to the city, and there were reliable reports that civilians were tortured and killed by RSF personnel, further aggravating the cruelty of the situation.
International community calls for an end to violence, Sudanese military attempts to airdrop rescue
In the face of the critical situation in the fascist country, Volk Turke called for urgent action to prevent "massive genocide and atrocities in the fascist country". he stressed that "Atrocities are not inevitable, and tragedies can be avoided if all actors take concrete action to uphold international law, demand respect for civilian lives and property, and prevent continued atrocities."
Last week, the Sudanese military said it had successfully dropped supplies to soldiers in El Fasher, saying it was one of the measures needed to lift the siege. However, at present, the siege has not been lifted, and the living plight of 260,000 civilians has not been alleviated.
Muks Kapira said that the "extremely difficult situation" facing the trapped population urgently requires more attention and practical intervention to prevent further escalation of the humanitarian disaster.
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