Renewed Assault in Sennar: Humanitarian Crisis Deepens in Sudan

At least 31 people have died and 100 others wounded due to the Rapid Support Forces' renewed assault on Sennar, Sudan. The conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army has caused widespread displacement, hunger, and infrastructure destruction. Both factions face accusations of war crimes.

At least 31 people have been killed and 100 wounded since the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces renewed an assault on the city of Sennar in southeastern Sudan, a legal activist group reported on Sunday. Several parts of the city, including the main market, have been targeted by RSF artillery fire, according to Emergency Lawyers, a group that monitors civilian deaths and other humanitarian violations.

The RSF, which already controls most of Sennar and half of the country, has seen its progress slow in the southeast due to heavy rains hindering movement. The ongoing conflict with Sudan's army has resulted in the world's most severe hunger and internal displacement crises, killing tens of thousands and obliterating Sudan's infrastructure and economy.

Emergency Lawyers also reported that the army had killed at least four people in al-Souki, a nearby town, during airstrikes. The RSF killed one person and wounded 17 in artillery strikes on el-Obeid, another town it struggles to fully control. Both sides in the 18-month-old civil war have committed actions that could constitute war crimes, according to a U.N.-mandated mission, which called for peacekeepers and a nationwide arms embargo.

On Saturday, Sudan's army-aligned foreign ministry rejected these recommendations, labeling the suggestion for international peacekeepers as "the wish of Sudan's enemies," asserting it will not come to pass.

(With inputs from agencies.)