The UN secretary general, António Guterres, warned that Sudan’s war is spiralling out of control and called on the warring parties to end the fighting and come to the table now. His remarks came on the sidelines of the World Summit for Social Development in Qatar, as the Rapid Support Forces seized El Fasher in Darfur after a siege of nearly 18 months.
Since RSF units entered the city last weekend, conditions have deteriorated sharply. Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped by the siege amid hunger, disease and violence. Videos posted by RSF fighters appear to show civilians being shot, including inside the maternity hospital. The capture of El Fasher gives the RSF control over all five state capitals in Darfur, prompting fears of a de facto east–west partition, though Sudan’s ambassador to the UK says there is little support for partition within Darfur.
Humanitarian toll and potential crimes
The two-year conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF has created one of the century’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than 150,000 killed and over 14 million displaced. Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court say they are gathering evidence of alleged mass killings, rape and other crimes in El Fasher.
Diplomacy and a faltering ceasefire push
Washington has been urging both sides to accept a plan agreed by Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia that begins with a three-month humanitarian pause, then a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transition to a civilian-led government. Initial signs from a lengthy SAF security and defence council meeting point to strong resistance to the US proposal, developed by Donald Trump’s envoy to Africa, Massad Boulos. Some SAF figures, under fresh pressure from Egypt to accept a ceasefire, suggest confining the RSF to camps outside cities, though enforcement is unclear.
External actors and allegations
Criticism is mounting over alleged Emirati backing for the RSF; the UAE denies supplying weapons. Speaking in London, Sudan’s ambassador Babikir Elamin urged the US to designate the RSF a terrorist organisation and to ban all arms sales to the UAE. He accused RSF leaders of publicly vowing further crimes and targeting named cities, communities and ethnic groups, and said areas previously untouched by the war are now at risk.
Guterres appealed for negotiations to “bring an end to this nightmare of violence.” Elamin argued that halting atrocities in El Fasher must come before any talks, questioning the value of a ceasefire process while RSF assaults continue. The immediate test is whether pressure from outside powers and the scale of civilian suffering can shift the parties from maximalist positions to a verifiable pause in fighting.
Source: The Guardian