Intense RSF shelling of besieged towns prompts fears of imminent humanitarian catastrophe

The Sudanese Doctors Network on Saturday warned of an imminent health and humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged town of Dilling in south Kordofan following intensified Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacks.

The notorious RSF paramilitary group has surrounded and attacked several areas, including North Darfur state capital El-Fasher, and South Kordofan's Kadugli and Dilling.

The network added that RSF ally, the People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), have also been involved in the wave of recent attacks.

In a statement, the doctor’s network said: "The intense shelling of Dilling by the RSF and the SPLM-N, led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, continues, resulting in civilian casualties daily".

They added that they were no longer able to determine the number of dead or scale of devastation in the region due to communication outages, particularly in cities under attack.

The communication blackout also left the network unable to reach its field teams stationed in Dilling.

"The siege imposed on the city remains in place…and it risks an imminent health and humanitarian disaster, given the severe shortages of food and medical supplies in hospitals and medical facilities," a statement from the group added.

The group called on humanitarian organisations and international bodies around the world to intervene immediately and help lift the siege and deliver emergency food and medical supplies.

They noted that the continued siege and bombardment of the city was "slowly killing civilians," and that the RSF must be held accountable for their crimes.

The RSF seized el-Fasher on 26 October, committing massacres against civilians. According to several reports, mass graves and scenes of devastation in the area were visible in satellite imagery captured from space.

The cities of Kadugli and Dilling have been under siege since the war broke out over two years ago, and face regular artillery and drone attacks.

North, West and Soth Kordofan have also in recent weeks faced fierce clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF, leading to tens of thousands of people being displaced.

Out of the country’s 18 states, the RSF controls the five Darfur states in the west, with the exception of parts of north Darfur that remain under the control of the army.

A new report last month found that the RSF was destroying and concealing evidence of mass killings.

Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL), which has used satellite imagery to monitor atrocities since the RSF's war with the army began, found that the group "destroyed and concealed evidence of its widespread mass killings" in the North Darfur state capital.

Meanwhile, aid agencies state that the violence in Sudan has uprooted nearly a quarter of the population, and is the world's most neglected crisis of 2025.