KHARTOUM / ISTANBUL

At least 14 civilians were killed and dozens injured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El-Fasher, the capital of the North Darfur State, a rights group said on Monday.

According to the Emergency Lawyers, an independent human rights watchdog, the RSF committed “a horrific massacre” targeting civilians trying to flee Qarni village, northwest of El-Fasher city, on Saturday, leaving 14 civilians dead and several others injured with varying severity.

The group said several civilians were also abducted, without giving further details.

The latest attack came amid a “suffocating siege imposed by the RSF on El-Fasher for over two months, which has led to a near-total collapse of health services, severe shortages in food and medicine, and widespread malnutrition and disease among thousands of civilians, especially children,” the rights group said.

It called on the international community to establish humanitarian corridors to ensure safe evacuation of civilians, and launch an international investigation into the RSF siege on the city.

There was no immediate comment from the RSF on the report.

El-Fasher is a vital hub for humanitarian operations in Darfur but has been under a strict RSF siege and recurrent clashes for more than a year, despite international efforts to broker a humanitarian truce and allow aid deliveries.

Sudan has been ravaged by fighting between the army and the RSF since April 2023, killing more than 20,000 people and displacing 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.