UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ over military escalation in Sudan’s El-Fasher

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "gravely concerned" by the recent military escalation in Sudan's besieged city of El-Fasher, condemning the "indiscriminate attacks and targeting of civilians," his spokesman said Monday.

"The Secretary-General strongly condemns reports of violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights in El-Fasher, including indiscriminate attacks and targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as gender-based violence, ethnically motivated attacks and ill-treatment," Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Guterres urged the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to "immediately engage" with his Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, and take "swift, tangible steps toward a negotiated settlement."

"For over eighteen months, El-Fasher and the surrounding areas in North Darfur have been an epicenter of suffering-with hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped by a tightening siege by the Rapid Support Forces," the statement said. "Malnutrition, disease and violence are claiming lives daily."

The secretary-general reiterated his call for an immediate end to the siege, demanding safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian aid delivery to all civilians in need.

He also expressed alarm over the continued flow of weapons and fighters into Sudan.

El-Fasher, the capital of the North Darfur region, has witnessed fierce fighting for weeks between the army and the RSF following a multi-front assault by the paramilitary group, which has surrounded the city from five directions in an attempt to seize control of it due to its strategic importance.

The RSF has been besieging El-Fasher since May 10, 2024.

Fighting between the army and the RSF has been taking place since April 2023, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.