The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has shelled a famine-stricken displacement camp in Sudan’s western region of Dafur, killing at least 31 people, including seven children and a pregnant woman, a medical group said.
The Rapid Support Forces artillery shelling of the Abu Shouk camp outside Al Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province, also wounded 13 others, the Sudan Doctors Network said in a statement.
The shelling on Saturday was was second attack on the camp in less than a week.
The Resistance Committees in Al Fasher, a grassroots group tracking the war, said RSF launched an hours-long “extensive artillery shelling” on the camp early Morning. It said in a Facebook post that the attack also resulted in severe damage to private properties and the camp’s infrastructure.
The RSF didn’t immediately comment on the attack.
Abu Shouk is one of two camps for displaced people outside Al Fasher. They have repeatedly been attacked by the RSF and their allies, including a major offensive in April which killed hundreds of people and forced hundreds of thousands others to flee. Both camps Abu Shouk and Zamzam have been hit by famine.
Sudan’s civil war broke out in April 2023 over a power struggle between commanders of the military and the RSF.
The fighting wrecked the African country, forced about 14 million people out of their homes, and pushed some of its parts into famine.
Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict and there have been atrocities, including mass killings and rape, particularly in Darfur.
The International Criminal Court is investigating potential crimes and crimes against humanity in the conflict.