The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced on Sunday that they had repelled an intense assault by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. The attack is part of ongoing clashes in the city, which remains a key stronghold for the SAF.

According to a statement by SAF’s 6th Infantry Division, the army and its allied forces successfully thwarted the RSF’s offensive in the early hours of Sunday. The SAF reported heavy losses inflicted on the attacking forces, including the destruction of armored vehicles, dozens of casualties, and injuries to several RSF fighters.

Meanwhile, North Darfur’s Governor, Al-Hafiz Bakhit, confirmed that RSF shelling struck a displacement shelter located at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources in El Fasher. The attack killed at least five displaced civilians and injured 30 others.

The RSF has yet to release an official statement on the incident.

Fighting has intensified in El Fasher since May 10, 2024, as the RSF attempts to gain full control of Darfur. El Fasher is the region’s largest city and the only state capital still under SAF control.

Sudan has been mired in violent conflict between the SAF and the RSF since April 2023, following a failed power-sharing transition. The civil war has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands and displaced millions, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

International observers have raised alarm over the worsening situation in Darfur, with civilians increasingly targeted in the fighting.