At least 28 people killed as Sudan paramilitary force tears through Darfur
Rapid Support Forces launches a large-scale assault on the town of Misteriha, home to tribal leader Musa Hilal.
Published On 24 Feb 202624 Feb 2026
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Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group has carried out a major raid in North Darfur State, killing and wounding dozens of people.
The RSF tore through the town of Misteriha, killing at least 28 people and injuring 39, including 10 women, said the Sudan Doctors Network, which monitors violence in the three-year war.
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The attack destroyed the area’s only health centre. Medical personnel were among those attacked, and one healthcare worker was detained and remains missing, the network said.
“These attacks constitute a fully fledged crime and a blatant violation of all humanitarian and international laws that criminalise attacks against civilians,” the group said.
The assault on Misteriha came against a backdrop of rising tribal tensions in the western region of Darfur, where a United Nations investigation last week found that the RSF committed acts of genocide against non-Arab ethnic groups.
The town is home to Arab tribal leader Musa Hilal – who despite hailing from the Arab Rizeigat ethnic group, which forms the tribal base of the RSF – has voiced support for Sudan’s government. The RSF was formed out of the Janjaweed militia, which fought rebel groups in Darfur and which Hilal commanded. He was sanctioned by the UN for ethnic atrocities in Darfur in the 2000s.
World’s largest crisis
RSF fighters targeted Hilal’s guesthouse with a drone strike over the weekend before launching their offensive.
Darfur, which is about the size of France, is home to many armed groups mostly organised along ethnic lines. While some have fought for either the RSF or the army, others have remained neutral, forging informal deals to keep territory under their control.
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Since the war began in April 2023, fighting between the RSF and Sudan’s regular army has devastated the country, particularly in the Darfur, where the RSF has consolidated control.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 11 million, creating the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.