The Sudanese military repelled an attack by paramilitary forces on a major city in Darfur

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s military and allied armed groups repelled an attack by a paramilitary group and Arab militias on a major city in the western Darfur region, officials and residents said Saturday.

Friday’s attack was the latest by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces against el-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province, where hundreds of thousands of people are seeking refuge, many of whom have fled fighting elsewhere in Darfur.

The RSF, which has been at war with the military for more than a year, has been building up troops in recent months to take control of el-Fasher, the last military-held town in the sprawling Darfur region.

The conflict in Sudan began in April last year when rising tensions between military and RSF leaders led to open fighting in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

The conflict devastated the country and brought its population to the brink of starvation. More than 14,000 people were killed and thousands more injured. There were reports of widespread sexual violence and other atrocities that human rights groups describe as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Darfur witnessed some of the worst atrocities of the war, with the RSF taking control of many towns and cities in the region. Human Rights Watch said in a report last week that RSF attacks constituted an ethnic cleansing campaign against the region’s non-Arab population.

The RSF and its allies launched the attack on the eastern side of al-Fasher early Friday, clashing with military forces and other armed groups defending the town, resident Amany Mohamed said. She said the military and allied forces repelled the attack.

“Yesterday was a very difficult day,” she said by phone Saturday. “There were heated arguments that lasted six hours.”

Another resident and activist, Ibtisam al-Doum, fled with her family during heavy fighting on Friday to a school in the south of the city that has been converted into a shelter. She said she saw hundreds of people fleeing on foot to safer areas.

“The situation is catastrophic. We don’t know when this will end,” she said from the Jiser al-Jinan shelter. “What’s happening is senseless.”

The military-run camp and the RSF accused each other of instigating Friday’s fighting.

Local media reported heavy clashes in parts of the city, including on the Energy Planet. Footage on social media platforms showed army troops and allied forces celebrating, as well as captured fighters in RSF uniforms paraded in the streets.

“Reports of intensifying clashes in the city are deeply worrying,” Martin Griffiths, the United Nations aid chief, wrote on X, urging warning parties to de-escalate. “The people of Darfur need more food, not more fighting,” he said.

The International Organization for Migration said the military launched airstrikes on RSF positions in the northern and eastern parts of al-Fasher on Saturday. It said Friday’s fighting forced about 170 households, or about 800 people, from their homes.

Last month, the United Nations said the RSF had encircled the city and warned an attack would have “devastating consequences” for its 800,000 residents.

The RSF and allied Arab militias have launched a series of attacks on al-Fasher and its surroundings in recent weeks, capturing several villages on the northern side.

Such attacks “resulted in horrific reports of violence, including sexual violence, injured and killed children, the burning of homes and the destruction of critical civilian supplies and infrastructure,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, said earlier this month.

“The fighting and growing fears of ethnic violence have pushed many families into overcrowded refugee camps such as Zamzam camp and informal gathering places in and around the town of al-Fasher,” she said.