The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
The Secretary-General is appalled by the relentless attacks by the Rapid Support Forces on El Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur.
El Fasher has been under a tightening siege for more than 500 days with hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in the area. Recent weeks have seen near-continuous shelling of the area and repeated deadly incursions into the Abu Shouk displacement camp, where famine conditions were identified in December 2024. Since 11 August, the United Nations has documented at least 125 civilians having been killed in the El Fasher area, including summary executions, with the actual death toll likely higher.
The Secretary-General is alarmed at the grave risks of serious violations of international humanitarian law as well as violations and abuses of international human rights law, including ethnically motivated ones.
Supplies are pre-positioned nearby but efforts by the United Nations and its partners to move them into El Fasher continue to be hampered. There have been repeated attacks on humanitarian personnel and assets in North Darfur over recent months.
The Secretary-General calls for an immediate ceasefire in and around the El Fasher area. He insists that immediate steps must be taken to protect civilians and enable the safe, unhindered and sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance into the area, and to allow any civilians seeking to leave the area voluntarily to do so safely.
The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, is continuing to engage the warring parties. He stands ready to support genuine efforts to halt the violence and establish an inclusive political process that the people of Sudan demand.
