The African Union (AU) has urged an immediate cessation of hostilities in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher following a severe assault by paramilitary forces.
El-Fasher is one of five state capitals in Sudan’s western Darfur region and is the only one currently not under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been clashing with Sudan’s regular army since April 2023.
Darfur, roughly the size of France and home to around a quarter of Sudan’s population, has been deeply affected by years of ethnic violence, much of it perpetrated by the Janjaweed militia, from which the RSF has evolved.
This weekend, the RSF initiated an offensive in the city, which is home to approximately two million residents, after enduring a months-long siege.
The African Union Commission said its chairman, Moussa Faki Mahamat, “strongly condemns the current escalation of the crisis and spread of violence.”
Mahamat “calls for an immediate cessation of the fighting inside and outside of El-Fasher,” it added.
Mahamat has urged the AU’s Peace and Security Council to “urgently consider the situation”.
Both parties involved in the Sudan conflict have faced accusations of war crimes, including the targeting of civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas, and the looting or obstruction of vital humanitarian aid.
This month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that at least 20,000 people have lost their lives since the outbreak of war, though some estimates, as mentioned by US envoy Tom Perriello, suggest the death toll could be as high as 150,000.
The conflict has also resulted in the displacement of over 10 million people—around a fifth of Sudan’s population—both within the country and across its borders.