A new report by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab has accused Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of deliberately targeting farming communities during the siege of El-Fasher in North Darfur.
According to the researchers, RSF fighters attacked 41 villages between March and June 2024, destroying homes and forcing residents to flee. The analysis points to widespread burning of villages around El-Fasher, with satellite data showing active fires within two kilometres of affected communities.
The report also found that food production in the area dropped sharply as people were killed or displaced and farmland was left uncultivated. Researchers say the destruction of food-producing villages appears to have been part of a deliberate effort to deprive communities of food.
The findings also support earlier conclusions by the United Nations that the RSF targeted non-Arab ethnic groups, particularly the Zaghawa and Fur communities, as the militia tightened its siege of El-Fasher.
The situation reportedly worsened when RSF fighters captured the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in North Darfur, an event that has been linked to reports of mass killings.
The conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis across Sudan, with millions of civilians displaced and food shortages worsening in several parts of the country.
–ChannelAfrica–
