The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped amid an escalation of fighting in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state.

“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,” said UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher.

Mr Fletcher said he was “deeply alarmed by reports of civilian casualties and forced displacement,” calling for “an immediate ceasefire in El Fasher, across Darfur, and throughout Sudan.

“Civilians must be allowed safe passage and be able to access aid. Those fleeing to safer areas must be allowed to do so safely and with dignity. Those who stay, including local responders, must be protected.

“Attacks on civilians, hospitals, and humanitarian operations must stop immediately,” Mr Fletcher said.

According to UN estimates, around 300,000 people are living in desperate conditions in El Fasher, which has been cut off for more than a year.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has taken El Fasher, the last government-controlled city in the Darfur region, according to its own statements.

The military did not initially comment on this. According to media reports, fighting continues in the capital of North Darfur state. The information could not initially be independently verified.

Sudan’s de facto ruler, Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, has been locked in a bloody power struggle with RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo since April 2023. Both sides have been accused of serious human rights violations.

The UN considers the situation to be the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, with more than 12 million people displaced and more than 26 million facing starvation. About half the country’s population is suffering from acute hunger.

The regions of Darfur and Kordofan, currently controlled by the RSF, are particularly affected.

(dpa/NAN)