Key Sudanese city could fall to rebels imminently – US
The United States envoy to Sudan has issued a warning that El Fasher, a besieged city in western Darfur, is on the brink of falling to rebel forces.
El Fasher remains the last city in western Darfur still under army control.
The armed forces have been engaged in a 14-month civil war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
US envoy Tom Perriello informed the BBC that elements within the RSF believe capturing El Fasher would aid in establishing Darfur as a breakaway state.
Mr. Perriello emphasized that the US would not recognize an independent Darfur “under any circumstances.”
“Anyone within RSF territory who believes taking El Fasher will grant them the right to the state of Darfur needs to abandon that illusion,” he stated. “It does not mean that.”
He also called for a ceasefire in the city, which has been under attack by the RSF since mid-April.
“We see upwards of a million innocent people being starved by the RSF siege,” he noted. “Bombings have resulted in deaths within hospitals.
“There are 45,000 pregnant women who lack proper prenatal care and sufficient nutrition for a healthy pregnancy.
“And as dire as the situation is, it could worsen if El Fasher falls, not only due to the ensuing battle but also the chaos as people flee.”
America’s warning about the potential fall of El Fasher comes after weeks of intense fighting in the city.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped in the town, suffering from hunger and thirst due to severe shortages of food and water.
El Fasher had been a sanctuary for many who had fled their homes because of the conflict. But it has now turned into yet another frontline.
Civilians there have reported being hit by shelling and bullets in their homes and even in hospital.
One of the last health facilities still running is the Sayyid Shuada health centre.
Footage filmed in the hospital for the BBC shows a distraught mother too shocked to speak after shelling hit her home, injuring five family members.
She held her toddler as her husband and other children received emergency treatment.
The mother said she couldn’t tell whether the blood on her toddler’s face was his, his siblings’ or his father’s.
Sayyid Shuada is overstretched by the mounting casualties.
“Every day there is a new wave of patients that are wounded arriving… on average maybe 50 per day, which is already what we consider mass casualty,” said Claire Nicolet, who leads medical charity MSF’s emergency response in Sudan.
There’s only one surgeon present at the facility who is forced by the situation to work “round the clock”.
“Most of [the patients] need surgery so it’s pretty dramatic,” says Ms Nicolet.
Local community volunteers have formed committees to try and support the hospital. They take care of non-medical tasks, like finding water and fuel and collecting data.
Volunteer Khalid Abdul Hamid tells the BBC that committees are collecting donations of cash, goods, and services from the already war-battered community.
“From our own efforts and the efforts of well-wishers, we have managed to get some medicine… or cash contributions to buy medicine from the local market,” he said.
The situation is deteriorating by the day and an increasing number of facilities are put out of operation by the fighting.
On Saturday, RSF fighters stormed the South Hospital, a referral hospital that was treating civilians wounded in the war. Gunmen opened fire and looted the facility, stealing an ambulance.
The hospital, which was also ran by the medical charity MSF, has now been closed.
Its head of emergencies, Michel Lacharite, said the attack was outrageous. “Opening fire inside a hospital crosses a line,” he said.
The South hospital had been hit by shelling and bullets at least three times in 10 days before the Saturday raid.
A pediatric hospital managed by the MSF in El Fasher was bombed in May, killing two children.
The constant shelling in El Fasher has sent tens of thousands fleeing once again. Most are heading towards Sudan’s west, with options for safer places running out.
“We need this to end,” Mr Perriello said.
“We need cooler heads to prevail and get this particular battle paused, while also we don’t take our eye off of other parts of Sudan.”
