November 21, El Fasher — The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have changed their combat tactics in El Fasher, North Darfur. They have been withdrawing from bases to lure in Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters before attacking them, sources told Darfur24.
This comes as RSF continue to try and takeover the city, one of the remaining SAF strongholds in the region. In the last two months, they have mobilized fighters from states across Darfur to come and fight in El Fasher. Recent reports have indicated that the city could fall to the RSF at any time.
Since April 2023, the two warring parties in El Fasher have fought over 145 battles. Now, sources told Darfur24, all axis of El Fasher have become an open battlefield and the SAF have been fighting heavily to stop the RSF from taking over.
They confirmed that the battles over the weekend in southeastern El Fasher were particularly violent. The RSF advanced from the southern axis at dawn towards the center of El Fasher and the police headquarters, after the SAF withdrew from their positions. But the SAF returned at night and attacked heavily with artillery, forcing the RSF to retreat. A similar scenario also played out with RSF fighters advancing from the eastern axis and later being forced to retreat.
Meanwhile, more than 3,000 have fled El Fasher in the last week as the fighting continues, a spokesperson for the General Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugee Camps in Darfur said on Tuesday. They are living in “extremely harsh humanitarian conditions” with a lack of basic necessities.
This comes after the United Nations said that the ongoing fighting in El Fasher has severely limited the delivery of commercial and humanitarian supplies. On Thursday the United Nations said that Zamzam camp for the internally displaced in North Darfur is of particular concern as the battles continue.
“If El Fasher falls, Zamzam is likely to be the next target due to its strategic location, the RSF’s history of targeting displacement sites and the predominance of Zaghawa populations within the camp, which the RSF have previously targeted in its ethnic cleansing campaigns,” the UN said.