KHARTOUM, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) — At least 13 people were killed and more than 21 injured in shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that targeted a mosque in the city of El Fasher, western Sudan, volunteers and eyewitnesses said on Thursday. “The Abu Shouk Mosque in El Fasher was shelled late Wednesday, killing at least 13 civilians and injuring more than 21,” the Abu Shouk Camp Emergency Room, a volunteer group, said in a statement. The group said the mosque had been sheltering dozens of families who had fled the Abu Shouk neighborhood after the RSF forces recently advanced into the area. An eyewitness told Xinhua that, due to security concerns, rescuers could not reach the site until early Thursday, when volunteers cleared the rubble and recovered 13 bodies along with several wounded. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan condemned the recent attacks in El Fasher. “OCHA strongly condemns the recent repeated attacks in El Fasher, North Darfur. Artillery shelling reportedly carried out by the Rapid Support Forces on Thursday and Wednesday struck the Saudi Hospital and a mosque where displaced families were sheltering, killing at least 20 civilians,” the UN agency said in a post on X. “Civilians must never be attacked,” OCHA said. The RSF has not yet commented on the shelling of the mosque. Violent clashes have been ongoing in El Fasher since May 2024 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied groups on one side and the RSF on the other, with fighting intensifying in recent days. Sudan remains gripped by a broader conflict between the SAF and RSF, which erupted in April 2023. The fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, worsening the country’s humanitarian crisis. Enditem