SUDAN – At least 7 civilians were killed and over 70 others injured in Rapid Support Forces (RSF) artillery shelling on El-Fasher on Sunday according to local reports.

In a statement, the Sudanese Doctors Network denounced the civilian killings as a “massacre,” warning that the situation in the city amounts to “an integrated genocide, involving bombardment, siege, and systematic starvation of residents.”

It held the RSF responsible for the attack and called on the international community and local authorities to take “urgent and immediate action to halt the shelling and open safe humanitarian corridors.”

On Thursday, the medical group said that 24 people were killed and 55 others injured in RSF artillery shelling targeting a marketplace and the Awlad al-Rif neighborhood in El-Fasher.

Local committees and authorities in El-Fasher have repeatedly accused the RSF of responsibility for artillery attacks and repeated assaults on the city, which has been under siege since May 10, 2024, despite international warnings over the risks of fighting in the city that serves as the hub for humanitarian operations across Darfur’s five states.

Parallel Government Sworn-in in Sudan

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo was sworn in Sunday as the head of a parallel government in Sudan.

In a statement, the Sudanese Founding Alliance, a coalition led by the RSF, said Dagalo took the oath of office in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur State in western Sudan.

It said Abdelaziz Adam al-Hilu was sworn in as Dagalo’s deputy, along with members of a 13-seat presidential council.

On July 26, the coalition announced the formation of a parallel government led by Dagalo.

In February, the RSF and several allied groups signed a political charter in Kenya to establish a parallel government in Sudan, a move denounced by Khartoum.

On Aug. 14, the UN Security Council rejected the formation of a parallel governing authority in RSF-held areas as a violation of Sudan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

The Sudanese army and RSF have been fighting a war since April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 victims and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.