Sudan Darfur Violence: 114 Killed in One Week of Deadly Attacks, Medical Sources Say

Sudan War Update: 114 Killed in Darfur Attacks as Army and RSF Clash, Medical Sources Say

Sudan | chatzyr.net

At least 114 people have been killed in a week of violent attacks in Sudan’s western Darfur region, according to medical sources cited by AFP on Sunday, as fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to intensify.

Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal conflict since April 2023, with battles raging between the national army and the RSF. In October, the RSF captured the army’s last major position in Darfur, expanding its control across much of the region and pushing westward toward the Chadian border and east into the vast Kordofan region.

Medical sources reported that 51 people were killed on Saturday in drone strikes on the North Darfur town of Al-Zuruq, approximately 180 kilometers north of El-Fashir, the state capital now under RSF control. The strikes reportedly hit a local market and nearby civilian neighborhoods.

Al-Zuruq is known to host relatives of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, a former deputy to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. An eyewitness told AFP that two members of the Daglo family were among those killed.

Meanwhile, RSF forces advancing west toward Chad allegedly killed 63 people in and around the town of Kernoi, according to medical staff at the local hospital. At least 57 others were injured, while 17 people remain missing, local sources said.

Both the Sudanese army and the RSF have been accused of targeting civilian areas during the conflict, which the United Nations has described as a “war of atrocities.”

The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. The entire Darfur region remains largely inaccessible to journalists, compounded by prolonged communications blackouts. Local volunteers and medical workers rely on satellite internet to relay information to the outside world.

According to the UN, more than 7,000 people were displaced in just two days last month from Kernoi and the nearby village of Um Baru. Many displaced civilians belong to the Zaghawa ethnic group, which has reportedly been targeted by RSF forces. Members of the group have aligned with the army as part of the Joint Forces coalition.

Fighting has also intensified in North Kordofan, where drone strikes on the regional capital El-Obeid caused a major power outage. Sudan’s national electricity company confirmed that a power station was damaged in a drone attack, halting electricity supply across the city.

Kordofan, a strategic and oil-rich region linking Darfur to Khartoum, has become one of the war’s main battlegrounds. While the army recaptured Khartoum last year, RSF forces continue efforts to regain control of central supply routes and besiege key cities.

The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that around 11,000 people have been displaced from North and South Kordofan since mid-December, adding to a growing humanitarian catastrophe.

Overall, the war has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 11 million people, forcing many to flee to underdeveloped areas lacking food, medicine, and clean water. Aid agencies warn that hundreds of thousands now face the risk of mass starvation as fighting blocks relief access.