This follows reports of heavy civilian casualties, hospital attacks and the city’s reported capture by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Tom Fletcher said he was “deeply alarmed” by reports of forced displacement and mounting civilian deaths as fighting intensifies.

“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 on Sunday.

He urged “an immediate ceasefire in El Fasher, across Darfur and throughout Sudan,” stressing that civilians must be granted safe passage and humanitarian workers must be protected.

“Safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access must be allowed to reach all civilians in need,” he added, noting that aid deliveries have stalled due to the escalating violence.

El Fasher, the last major city in Darfur under government control, has been besieged for more than a year. The RSF, a paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), has reportedly taken control after seizing the army’s Sixth Division headquarters.

The fall of El Fasher would mark a major setback for the SAF and a potential turning point in the conflict that has devastated Sudan since April 2023.

The war has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, displacing more than 11.7 million people, including 4.2 million refugees in neighbouring countries, according to the UN.

Fletcher condemned attacks on civilians, hospitals and humanitarian operations, warning that those responsible for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law must be held accountable.

He reiterated the obligations under UN Security Council resolution 2736 (2024), which calls for an end to the siege of El Fasher, the protection of civilians, and unhindered humanitarian access across Sudan.

–UN/ChannelAfrica–