Khartoum, Aug11 (IANS): The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced that it repulsed a major attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur State in western Sudan.

"Today, our forces crushed a major attack by the militia and inflicted heavy losses on them," Nabil Abdallah, the SAF's spokesman, said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

For its part, the joint force of the armed movements in the Darfur region, which is allied with the SAF, said in a statement that it fought a fierce battle in El Fasher on Saturday and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, referring to the RSF.

The non-governmental Coordination of Resistance Committees in El Fasher said that the clashes in the city "have relatively stopped" after continuing for more than six hours.

"The clashes have relatively stopped, but the artillery shelling by the RSF militias continues towards markets, hospitals, and citizens' homes, amid reports of injuries among citizens that are currently being counted," the coordination said in a statement on its Facebook page.

The RSF has not issued any comments regarding the attack.

Since May 10, fierce clashes between the SAF and the RSF have been raging in El Fasher.

Sudan has been witnessing a deadly conflict between the SAF and the RSF since April 15, 2023, resulting in the loss of at least 16,650 lives. An estimated 10.7 million people are now internally displaced in Sudan, with approximately 2.2 million others seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, according to most recent UN data.