After 60 Killed in El Fasher, Sudan, Catholic Entity Urges International Community “to do all it can to end siege”

Khartoum, 14 October, 2025 / 10:35 PM

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based human rights organization, is calling on the international community to act swiftly and end the siege in El Fasher, Sudan, where at least 60 people, including 22 children, were killed in an October 10 attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), formerly known as the Janjaweed militia.

In a Monday, October 13 report, CSW Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has urged all parties to the conflict in Sudan to declare a nationwide ceasefire to protect civilians, particularly in El Fasher, which has witnessed intense fighting since the war broke out on 15 April 2023.

“CSW is deeply concerned by the latest efforts of the RSF to increase pressure on hundreds of thousands of civilians in El Fasher who have already endured almost 18 months of a brutal siege,” Scot Bower has been quoted as saying.

Mr. Bower adds, “We call yet again on the international community to do all it can to end the siege on El Fasher, protect the lives of civilians, and urge all parties to the conflict to initiate an immediate, nationwide ceasefire.”

In the Sunday, October 10, attack, the CSW report indicates that at least 60 people, including 22 children, were killed in airstrikes by RSF on the Dar al-Arqam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the town that serves as the capital of North Darfur State in Sudan.

The attack reportedly followed days of increased bombardment of the city, which has become the main battleground between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Darfur, as it is the only city that is not under RSF control.

In the report, CSW reflects on a series of attacks in Darfur in the past months, including the October 7 attack that killed at least 13 people, injuring another 16 when the RSF shelled the Saudi Hospital, one of the last remaining hospitals in the city, which also served as its main maternity hospital.

The report says that another 13 people were killed in an attack on a mosque in the Abu Souk neighborhood on October 8, in which at least 17 others were wounded, two of whom later succumbed to their injuries.

El Fasher has been under siege since April 2024, despite a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling on the RSF to lift it; the CSW report further states this.

In April 2025, the RSF reportedly seized the Abu Souk and Zamzam IDP camps located approximately 15km from the city. The two camps are said to form the largest IDP settlement in Sudan, housing over 700,000 people between them.

The CSW report indicates that both camps have been turned into military bases by the RSF.

In an open letter dated October 2, CSW joined over 100 organizations and humanitarian actors to call for urgent action to protect civilians, including unhindered humanitarian access and the establishment of safe exit routes for those who choose to leave.

As places of worship become most targeted in the siege, reports, according to CSW, indicate that the RSF had occupied the Episcopal and Pentecostal churches, where much of the city’s Christian community had been sheltering, and were using them for military purposes.

On September 19, at least 70 people were reportedly killed when the RSF attacked a mosque near the Abu Souk Camp. 

The SAF has also killed civilians in the area. At least 16 people died in an SAF drone strike on the town of Al-Kuma, to the east of El Fasher, on October 11.

El Fasher town, according to the CSW report, is under RSF control and has been targeted frequently by the SAF, with community leaders claiming that it has been hit by at least 150 airstrikes that have killed dozens of civilians and destroyed vital infrastructure, including water sources and the town’s main market.

“These latest attacks on an IDP camp, hospital and mosque may all constitute war crimes, and can be added to the tragically long list of similar atrocities the RSF has committed during the past two and a half years of conflict with the SAF, who also stand accused of perpetrating war crimes and crimes against humanity,” CSW’s CEO, Mr. Bower has been quoted as saying in the October 13 report.