The United Nations has issued an urgent call for a ceasefire in al-Fashir, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur region.
The city was recently taken over by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and disturbing reports have surfaced of attacks and abuses against civilians.
During a briefing to the UN Security Council on Thursday, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, warned that the conflict has become even more severe than before.
She described massive suffering and alarming new waves of violence, especially in al-Fashir, which had been under siege for over 500 days.
“The fall of the city marks a significant change in the security situation. The consequences for the people of Sudan and the region are enormous,” she said.Al-Fashir was the last of Darfur’s five state capitals to be captured by the RSF, led by General Mohammad Hamdan Daglo.
For more than two years, the RSF and the Sudanese army have been locked in a deadly battle for control of Sudan, a conflict that the UN estimates has killed more than 40,000 people.
Pobee noted that the violence is not limited to Darfur. Fighting has intensified in the Kordofan region and could become the next major battleground.
She added that the RSF recently seized the strategic city of Barah in North Kordofan, further escalating the conflict.
According to her, attacks from both sides are expanding to new areas and new targets, raising fears of more widespread destruction.
“The risk of mass killings, ethnically targeted attacks, and further violations of international humanitarian law, including sexual violence, remains extremely high,” she warned.
On Thursday, the UN Security Council expressed deep concern over the worsening situation and urged both sides to protect civilians, allow humanitarian access, and return to peace negotiations.
The Council also called on foreign governments to stop actions that fuel instability in Sudan.
