Sudan: At least 45 killed in RSF attack on North Darfur Town

A paramilitary attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed at least 45 civilians in the North Darfur town of al-Malha, according to an initial toll released by local activists on Saturday.

The RSF, which has been engaged in a brutal war against the Sudanese army since April 2023, announced on Thursday that it had seized al-Malha, a strategic town located about 200 kilometers northeast of El-Fasher, the state capital of North Darfur.

A resistance committee in El-Fasher, a volunteer aid group, released a preliminary list of victims from what it described as the “al-Malha massacre,” attributing the attack to the RSF. According to their report, 15 victims remain unidentified.

The paramilitary group claimed in a statement that its forces had “encircled the enemy” in al-Malha, resulting in the deaths of more than 380 individuals.

The Joint Forces, a coalition of armed groups aligned with the Sudanese army, has been resisting RSF offensives in Darfur and blocking paramilitary supply routes from Chad and Libya.

Al-Malha is one of the northernmost towns in Sudan’s vast desert region bordering Libya, where the Joint Forces and the RSF have been engaged in intense battles for months.

Despite recent gains by the Sudanese army in central Sudan including the recapture of the presidential palace in Khartoum, analysts believe the RSF is now focused on consolidating its hold over Darfur.

The ongoing war, which began nearly a year ago, has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced over 12 million people, creating the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis, according to the United Nations.

In particular, displacement camps near El-Fasher are facing worsening famine conditions. A UN-backed assessment found that three camps are now experiencing severe food shortages. Meanwhile, in the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps, which house nearly one million displaced people, residents have reported prolonged queues for drinking water due to an ongoing RSF siege.