Sudanese paramilitary forces kill at least 28 people in an attack in Darfur, medical group says

This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (AP Photo)

CAIRO — An attack by Sudanese paramilitary forces on a stronghold of a Darfur tribal leader left at least 28 people dead, a doctors group said Tuesday, the latest in a devastating war with no resolution in sight.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on Monday rampaged through the town of Misteriha in North Darfur province, according to the Sudan Doctors Network, which tracks the country’s ongoing war.

The town is a stronghold of Arab tribal leader Musa Hilal who also hails from the Rizeigat Arab tribe as the majority of the members of the paramilitary RSF.

At least 39 people, including 10 women, were wounded in the attack, the medical group said.

There was no immediate comment from the RSF and motives for the attack were not immediately known.

Sudan’s war erupted in 2023 after tensions between the Sudanese army and the rival RSF escalated into fighting that began in Khartoum, the country’s capital, and spread nationwide. The conflict has killed thousands and triggered mass displacement, disease outbreaks and severe food insecurity. Aid workers have been frequently targeted.

Repeated attempts at peace talks by various countries and groups have failed to end the war.

The UN Security Council called for an immediate halt to the fighting on Tuesday, condemning the RSF’s continued assault and destabilization in the Kordofans region and its reported atrocities in North Darfur’s capital el-Fasher “including systematic killings, mass displacement, summary executions, arbitrary detentions and ethnically motivated targeting.” Council members called for all perpetrators to be held accountable.

Council members reiterated that the priority is for the government and RSF “to advance talks aimed at achieving a lasting ceasefire leading to a comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process.”

The press statement, approved by all 15 council members, strongly condemned reports of repeated drone attacks on civilians, civilian infrastructure and aid workers since the beginning of February, reiterating that attacking humanitarian personnel may constitute war crimes.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment Tuesday of Finland’s former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto as the new personal envoy to Sudan to focus on peace efforts, replacing Ramtane Lamamra of Algeria.

Haavisto, currently a member of Finland’s parliament, has held senior roles with the UN and European Union and has broad experience in mediating and negotiating crises in Africa, including as the EU special representative for Sudan from 2005 to 2007, the UN chief said.

The medical group said RSF shelling hit the town’s health care center on Monday, after which the paramilitary fighters assaulted medical staff and detained at least one of them.

The RSF fighters had begun their offensive on the town over the weekend with drone strikes that hit Hilal’s guesthouse. On Monday, they launched a major ground offensive and took over the town.

Emergency Lawyers, an independent group documenting atrocities in Sudan, said RSF fighters torched many houses in the town, forcing people to flee to nearby villages.

The seizure of Misteriha would likely assert RSF control of Darfur. However, it risks escalating tribal tensions in an area long known for violence and war.

Monday’s attack came four months after the RSF overran el-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur after 18 months of siege. The paramilitaries killed more than 6,000 people between Oct. 25 and Oct. 27 in the city. The attack was marked by atrocities that UN-backed experts said bore " the hallmarks of genocide."

The war has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with over 14 million forced to flee their homes. It has fuelled disease outbreaks and pushed parts of the country into famine that still spreads as fighting shows no sign of abating.

The latest report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification earlier this month warned that severe acute malnutrition, the most dangerous and deadly form of malnutrition, is expected to increase to 800,000 cases, up 4 per cent from 2025.

Aid groups have long struggled to meet the growing needs of displaced people across the country and called for a ceasefire to secure aid delivery to remote areas in Darfur and Kordofan -- another hotbed in 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.”