In brief
As fighting intensifies in el-Fasher, Sudan, the United Nations has pleaded for the safe passage of civilians caught in the conflict. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have reportedly taken control of key military areas, leading to an alarming humanitarian crisis. UN officials warn that hundreds of thousands are trapped without access to basic necessities.
The UN has called for safe passage for trapped civilians out of the Sudanese city of el-Fasher after paramilitary fighters announced they had seized control of the army's main base there.
Sudan's military has not acknowledged loss of the site, which would be a significant victory for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the ongoing civil war.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said the latest fighting marked a terrible escalation in the conflict, adding that the suffering of civilians was unbearable, AFP news agency reports.
El-Fasher is the last army foothold in the vast western region of Darfur, and has been besieged by the RSF and its allies for 18 months.
Heavy fighting has been reported since Saturday after RSF fighters captured the home of the North Darfur governor.
Social media videos verified by the BBC show RSF combatants celebrating the capture of the army's el-Fasher headquarters.
The group has been accused of targeting civilians in airstrikes and trapping nearly 250,000 people after encircling the city with an earth wall, leaving many on the brink of starvation.
The city is one of the worst battlegrounds of Sudan's civil war, leading the UN to call it an epicentre of suffering.
The UN's top humanitarian official Tom Fletcher said he was deeply alarmed at the reports of civilian casualties.
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 added.
The US has also called for safe passage and is trying to negotiate a ceasefire.
Taking el-Fasher would be a crucial comeback for the RSF after their defeat in Khartoum. However, it suggests that the civil war is likely to continue.
Since 2023, Sudan has been ravaged by conflict after top commanders of the RSF and Sudanese army fell out, leading to a vicious power struggle.
More than 150,000 people have died, and about 12 million have fled their homes, creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in Sudan's history.
The RSF currently controls almost all of Darfur and much of neighboring Kordofan, with intentions of establishing a rival government in el-Fasher.
