UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned of a “terrible escalation” in the conflict, as officials sound the alarm over reports of civilian killings.
The United Nations has urgently called for the protection and safe passage of hundreds of thousands of civilians in El Fasher, Sudan, as fighters from the militia Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claim they have taken control of the besieged city.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher sounded the alarm on Monday amid reports of civilian casualties and forced displacement in the capital of North Darfur state.
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RSF has been besieging El Fasher for almost 18 months, trying to capture the last stronghold of Sudanese forces in a vast area in western Darfur. The fighting has trapped at least 250,000 civilians and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
“Hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and terrorized as militants move further into the city, cutting off escape routes. Under shelling, starving, without access to medical care, food or safety,” Fletcher said in a statement, adding that El Fasher was “reaching breaking point.”
He also called for unimpeded humanitarian access and safe passage for all civilians fleeing fighting. “Ceasefire now in El Fasher, Darfur and all of Sudan,” Fletcher wrote on social media.
Late on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the humanitarian situation in Sudan, which has been in a civil war since April 2023, had become “untenable” and warned of a “terrible escalation”.
Speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Guterres called on all countries intervening in the conflict and “providing weapons to the warring parties” to stop undermining efforts toward a ceasefire.
RSF consolidates control in Darfur
Observers said the capture of El Fasher could be a potential turning point in Sudan’s civil war, which has become the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, with tens of thousands of people dead, 12 million displaced and 30 million in need of aid.
Reporting from Sudan’s capital Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan said El Fasher’s takeover would strengthen the RSF’s control over all of Darfur.
“What this means is that the RSF will have more autonomy in the western region,” Morgan explained, adding that the fighters could even act to “separate” Darfur from the rest of Sudan.
Despite RSF guarantees of protection for civilians, the militia faces accusations of carrying out atrocities in El Fasher.
The Sudanese Doctors Network said advancing RSF fighters killed unarmed civilians for “ethnic reasons.”
“According to reports from our field teams, the number of victims exceeds dozens, but access to the affected areas remains difficult due to the complete security breakdown by the RSF,” the ministry said.
We were unable to independently verify this statement.
Meanwhile, Minni Minnawi, the governor of Darfur state, who is allied with the Sudanese army, called for the protection of civilians from the advancing RSF.
AFP news agency also reported that Minawi called for an “independent investigation into the violations and massacres” allegedly carried out by the RSF.
Sudan’s state news agency SUNA reported that Information Minister Khalid al-Aisir refuted RSF’s claims of an advance on El Fasher, describing it as “psychological warfare” and saying that “the rebellion… has collapsed and been defeated in several places.”
