RSF shells hospital, abducts 8 in El Fasher

PORT SUDAN: Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces shelled a hospital in North Darfur's besieged city of El Fasher and abducted six women and two children from a nearby displacement camp, rescuers and a medic said on Sunday. El Fasher, under RSF siege for over a year, is the last major city in western Darfur still held by the army and a flashpoint in the war that erupted in April 2023.

The Emergency Response Room at the Abu Shouk camp near El Fasher on Sunday said RSF fighters stormed the site, seizing eight unarmed civilians — six women, a 40-day-old baby and a three-year-old child — and taking them to an undisclosed location. More than 20 camp residents were missing, the rescuers said, warning the actual number could be higher. On Saturday, RSF artillery also hit the emergency and trauma unit of a hospital in El Fasher, wounding seven people, including a staff member, a doctor said. The bombardment, which continued into Sunday morning, "caused damage to the emergency department, forcing us to suspend operations", said the doctor. — AFP