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CAIRO (AP) \u2014 Sudan\u2019s military and allied armed groups have staved off an attack by a paramilitary group and Arab militias on a major city in the western region of Darfur<\/a>, officials and residents said on Saturday.<\/p>\n The attack on Friday 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 sheltering, many of them having fled fighting elsewhere in Darfur.<\/p>\n The RSF, which has been at war with the military for more than a year, has built forces up in recent months to wrestle control of el-Fasher, the last city that is still held by the military in the sprawling Darfur region.<\/p>\n Sudan\u2019s conflict<\/a> began in April last year when soaring tensions between the leaders of the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.<\/p>\n The conflict wrecked the country and pushed its population to the brink of famine.<\/a> It killed more than 14,000 people and wounded thousands more amid reports of widespread sexual violence and other atrocities that rights groups say amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n Darfur witnessed some of the worst atrocities in the war, with the RSF taking control of many cities and towns across the region. Human Rights Watch said in a report last week that RSF attacks constituted a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the region\u2019s non-Arab population.<\/p>\n The RSF and their allies launched the attack on el-Fasher\u2019s eastern side early Friday and clashed with military forces and other armed groups defending the city, said resident Amany Mohamed. She said the military and allied forces have repelled the attack.<\/p>\n \u201cYesterday was a very difficult day,\u201d she said over the phone on Saturday. \u201cThere were fierce clashes that lasted for six hours.\u201d<\/p>\n Another resident and an activist, Ibtisam al-Doum, fled with her family to a school-turned-shelter on the southern side of the city during heavy fighting on Friday. She said she saw hundreds of people escaping on foot to safer areas.<\/p>\n \u201cThe situation is catastrophic. We don\u2019t know when this will end,\u201d she said, speaking from the Jiser al-Jinan shelter. \u201cWhat\u2019s happening is senseless.\u201d<\/p>\n The military-led camp and the RSF blamed each other for initiating Friday\u2019s fighting.<\/p>\n Local media reported heavy clashes in parts of the city including its power planet. Footage on social media platforms showed army troops and allied forces celebrating and captured fighters in RSF uniform being paraded in the streets.<\/p>\n \u201cReports of intensifying clashes in the city are deeply alarming,\u201d Martin Griffiths, the United Nations\u2019 relief chief, wrote on X and called for warning parties to de-escalate. \u201cThe people of Darfur need more food, not more fighting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The International Organization for Migration said the military launched airstrikes Saturday on the RSF positions in the northern and eastern parts of el-Fasher. It said Friday\u2019s fighting had forced about 170 households, or about 800 people, from their homes.<\/p>\n The United Nations last month said the RSF had encircled the city and warned an attack would have \u201cdevastating consequences\u201d<\/a> on its 800,000 people.<\/p>\n The RSF and allied Arab militias have launched a series of attacks el-Fasher and its surroundings in recent weeks, taking several villages on the northern side.<\/p>\n Such attacks \u201cresulted in horrific reports of violence, including sexual violence, children injured and killed, homes set on fire and destruction of critical civilian supplies and infrastructure,\u201d Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF, said earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fighting and growing fear of ethnically motivated violence has driven many families to overcrowded displacement camps such as Zamzam camp and informal gathering sites in and around el-Fasher city,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n