KHARTOUM, Sudan/ISTANBUL 

The Sudanese army announced Wednesday that it repelled an attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.

It said troops from the 6th Infantry Division along with allied forces “inflicted heavy losses in personnel and equipment” on RSF fighters.

Meanwhile, medical committees reported that eight civilians were killed in RSF artillery shelling on the Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced persons in the city.

The emergency room at the camp said in a statement that the area was subjected to “intense shelling today by RSF forces using heavy artillery.”

It added that the attack resulted in eight fatalities, a number of injuries and the destruction of homes within the camp.

The RSF has not issued a statement on the incident

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, which have so far failed.

The army and RSF have been fighting a war since April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.