UN appeals for safe passage of civilians trapped in war-torn Sudan city

The United Nations has called for the safe passage of trapped civilians outside the Sudanese town of el-Fasher after paramilitaries said they had seized control of the main army base there.

The Sudanese military has not acknowledged the loss of the site, which would have been a significant victory for the Rapid Support Force (RSF) in the ongoing civil war.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said the latest fighting marked a “terrible escalation” of the conflict, adding that civilian suffering was “intolerable”, reports AFP.

El-Fasher is the last army foothold in Darfur’s vast western region and has been besieged by the RSF and their allies for 18 months.

Heavy fighting has been reported since Saturday after RSF fighters seized the home of the governor of North Darfur.

Social media videos verified by the BBC now show RSF fighters celebrating the capture of el-Fasher army headquarters.

They claim to have taken full control of el-Fasher, but the army’s local allies say fighting continues in parts of the city.

The group is accused of targeting civilians in airstrikes and trapping nearly 250,000 people after surrounding the city with an earthen wall, leaving many on the brink of starvation.

The city is one of the worst battlegrounds of Sudan’s civil war, prompting the UN to call it an “epicenter of suffering”.

The UN’s top humanitarian official, Tom Fletcher, said he was deeply troubled by reports of civilian casualties.

“With fighters pressing into the city and escape routes cut off, hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and terrified — shelled, starving and without access to food, health care or safety,” Fletcher said in a statement.

“Civilians must have safe passage and access to help,” he added.

The US has also called for safe passage and is trying to negotiate a ceasefire.

The capture of el-Fasher would be a decisive comeback for the RSF after the defeat in Khartoum.

But this is probably a sign that the civil war will continue, not end.

Sudan has been ravaged by conflict since 2023, after senior RSF commanders and the Sudanese army fell apart and a bitter power struggle ensued.

More than 150,000 people have died across the country and around 12 million have been displaced, creating one of the worst humanitarian crises.

The army controls most of the north and east, with al-Fasher so far the last major urban center in Darfur still held by government forces and its allies.

The RSF control almost all of Darfur and much of the neighboring Kordofan region.

The group has previously said it hopes to form a rival government in al-Fasher when it takes full control.

Additional reporting by Natasha Booty, Damiian Damaan Zane, Dama Chenai Never Chenai Nist Cumban.