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The UN has called for safe passage for trapped civilians out of the Sudanese city of el-Fasher after paramilitary fighters announced they had seized control of the army’s main base there. <\/p>\n
Sudan’s military has not acknowledged loss of the site, which would be a significant victory for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the ongoing civil war. <\/p>\n
UN chief Antonio Guterres said the latest fighting marked a “terrible escalation” in the conflict, adding that the suffering of civilians was “unbearable”, AFP news agency reports.<\/p>\n
El-Fasher is the last army foothold in the vast western region of Darfur, and has been besieged by the RSF and its allies for 18 months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Heavy fighting has been reported since Saturday after RSF fighters captured the home of the North Darfur governor.<\/p>\n
Social media videos verified by the BBC now show RSF combatants celebrating the capture of the army’s el-Fasher headquarters.<\/p>\n
They claim to have seized full control of el-Fasher, but the army’s local allies say fighting continues in parts of the city. <\/p>\n
Communication lines to el-Fasher have been almost completely cut off, while those who managed to flee are enduring harrowing hours filled with fear and uncertainty.<\/p>\n
“We’ve witnessed many of our relatives being massacred – they were gathered in one place and all killed. Now we have no idea what has happened to those who are still alive,” one man told the BBC. <\/p>\n
Another resident who fled said they were “extremely worried, as we still have no information about what has happened to the people inside el-Fasher – the children, the elderly, the wounded”.<\/p>\n
The RSF has been accused of targeting civilians in airstrikes and trapping nearly 250,000 people after encircling the city with an earth wall, leaving many on the brink of starvation.<\/p>\n
The city is one of the worst battlegrounds of Sudan’s civil war, leading the UN to call it an “epicentre of suffering”. <\/p>\n
The UN’s top humanitarian official Tom Fletcher said he was deeply alarmed at the reports of civilian casualties. <\/p>\n
“With fighters pushing further into the city and escape routes cut off, hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and terrified – shelled, starving, and without access to food, healthcare, or safety,” Fletcher said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“Civilians must be allowed safe passage and be able to access aid,” he added.<\/p>\n
The US has also called for safe passage and is trying to negotiate a ceasefire.<\/p>\n
Taking el-Fasher would be a crucial comeback for the RSF after defeat in Khartoum. <\/p>\n
But it is likely a sign that the civil war will continue, not end.<\/p>\n
Sudan has been ravaged by conflict since 2023, after top commanders of the RSF and Sudanese army fell out and a vicious power struggle ensued.<\/p>\n
More than 150,000 people have died across the country and about 12 million have fled their homes, creating one of the worst humanitarian crises.<\/p>\n
The army controls most of the north and the east, with el-Fasher being until now the last major urban centre in Darfur still held by government forces and its allies.<\/p>\n
The RSF controls almost all of Darfur and much of the neighbouring Kordofan region.<\/p>\n
The group has previously said that it hopes to form a rival government in al-Fasher when it assumes complete control.<\/p>\n
Additional reporting by Natasha Booty, Damian Zane, Danai Nesta Kupemba and Peter Mwai<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n