RSF says it has seized control of army’s main base in Darfur, home to famine-stricken displacement camp
Fears are growing for hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in El Fasher after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said it had captured the city, which it has been besieging for more than a year in Sudan’s civil war.
The group said on Sunday that it had seized control of the army’s main base in the city in Darfur, where famine was declared in a displacement camp last year. It then released a statement saying it had “extended control over the city of El Fasher from the grip of mercenaries and militias”.
The Popular Resistance, a local pro-army militia, responded on Sunday that the army was now in “more fortified positions” and that residents were still “resisting in the face of terrorist militias”.
The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said he was “deeply alarmed” by reports of fighters pushing further into the city and cutting off escape routes, calling for an immediate ceasefire, access for humanitarian aid and safe passage for civilians who wanted to leave.
