28 people were killed when Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces stormed a town in North Darfur aligned with a powerful tribal leader, according to a doctors’ group monitoring the war.
The Sudan Doctors Network said the assault occurred on Monday in Misteriha, a stronghold of Arab tribal figure Musa Hilal. The town has long been associated with Hilal, who comes from the Rizeigat Arab tribe, the same tribal base that forms the backbone of the RSF.
In addition to the dead, 39 people were wounded, including 10 women, the medical group reported. There was no immediate response from the RSF, and the reasons behind the attack were not clear.
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Medical sources said shelling by RSF fighters struck the town’s healthcare center before gunmen moved in, beating staff and detaining at least one medic. The offensive had begun over the weekend with drone strikes targeting Hilal’s guesthouse. By Monday, fighters launched a full ground operation and seized control of the town.
Emergency Lawyers, an independent organization documenting abuses in Sudan, said RSF forces burned numerous homes, sending residents fleeing to surrounding villages.
If consolidated, the capture of Misteriha would strengthen the RSF’s grip over Darfur. Analysts warn, however, that it could inflame tribal fault lines in a region scarred by decades of conflict.
Sudan’s war broke out in 2023 when escalating tensions between the national army and the RSF exploded into open combat in Khartoum before spreading across the country. Since then, thousands have been killed, millions uprooted and essential services shattered. Aid workers have also come under repeated attack.
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Monday’s assault follows the RSF’s takeover of el-Fasher, North Darfur’s provincial capital, four months ago after an 18-month siege, the AP reported. More than 6,000 people were killed between Oct. 25 and Oct. 27 during that operation. U.N.-backed experts said the violence bore “ the hallmarks of genocide.”
The conflict has turned into what aid agencies describe as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. More than 14 million people have been driven from their homes. Famine conditions have emerged in parts of the country, while disease outbreaks continue to spread as fighting grinds on.
Earlier this month, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned that cases of severe acute malnutrition are projected to rise to 800,000, a 4% increase from 2025 levels.
Humanitarian groups say relief operations are increasingly strained and have renewed calls for a halt to the fighting to allow aid into hard-to-reach areas of Darfur and Kordofan, another epicenter of the war.
“The main thing that needs to happen is, of course, a ceasefire,” said Zia Salik, interim U.K. director of Islamic Relief, an aid group working in Sudan. “Ultimately, that is what’s causing the pain and the difficulty for all of the civilians that are caught in the crosshairs.”
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