Battles in El Fasher: Hundreds of Citizens Killed and Thousands of Buildings Destroyed Since April

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In the first detailed count of casualties from the fighting in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, a specialized conflict monitoring organization announced that the battles between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces and their allies have resulted in the deaths of 700 citizens since the Rapid Support Forces began their attack on El Fasher on April 10.

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) reported that about half of the victims (320) were killed within one month from May 25 to June 21. However, they noted the statistics issued by the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate, which indicated that at least 4,000 people have died due to violence, disease, and starvation in El Fasher alone.

ACLED added that the battles have severely impacted healthcare facilities in North Darfur, leading to many going out of service and exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation.

The organization stated that the battle for El Fasher extended throughout the area surrounding the regional capital, with incidents of violence reported in at least 20 different locations outside the city.

In the absence of official local records of war casualties in Sudan, ACLED has become the primary source for counting the Sudanese war casualties they have been able to document, noting that the actual numbers remain higher.

Additionally, the Sudan Conflict Observatory reported that the fighting in East El Fasher has damaged at least 7,800 buildings, with most being burned or nearly completely destroyed.

It also mentioned that at least 41 properties have been damaged in the Abu Shouk IDP camp, either by burning or shelling.