By Nafisa Eltahir

(Reuters) -Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said on Sunday they had captured the army headquarters in the city of al-Fashir, the Sudanese army's last stronghold in the Darfur region in the west of the country.

Two videos shared by the RSF showed its soldiers cheering in front of signs for the army's Sixth Infantry base. Reuters was able to verify the location but not the date. The army did not immediately give a statement on its current position.

Capture of al-Fashir would be a significant victory for the RSF that could hasten a physical split of the country, by enabling the paramilitary group to consolidate its control over the vast Darfur region, which it has claimed as the base for a parallel government established this summer.

It comes after the RSF on Saturday captured the city of Bara in North Kordofan, the state that forms a barrier between Darfur and the Sudanese capital and the army-controlled eastern half of the country.

RSF BESIEGED CITY FOR 18 MONTHS

The RSF had besieged the city, capital of North Darfur state, for the past 18 months as it fights the army and allied former rebels and local fighters.

It has targeted civilians in frequent drone and artillery strikes, while the siege has led to starvation among the 250,000 people who remain in the west of the city.

Some activists have long warned that an RSF takeover of the city would lead to ethnic revenge attacks, as seen after the capture of the Zamzam camp for displaced people to the south.

Reuters was unable to reach residents of al-Fashir, who rely on Starlink terminals to access the internet given a long-term telecom blackout.

UN-MANDATED MISSION SAYS RSF COMMITS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

Last week, the RSF said it was facilitating the exit of civilians and surrendered fighters from al-Fashir, but those who have left have reported robberies, kidnappings, sexual assaults and killings by RSF soldiers on the road.

In a video posted by a senior official in the RSF-led Tasis government, RSF soldiers say they are protecting a long convoy of mostly men leaving al-Fashir, who they say are mainly soldiers. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the date or location of the footage.

A U.N.-mandated mission said last month the RSF had committed multiple crimes against humanity in the al-Fashir siege. The army has also been accused of war crimes.

The al-Fashir Resistance Committees, a local activist group, said in a statement the fight for the city was ongoing, blaming the army leadership for leaving the fighters in the city to fight on their own.

Drone footage shared by the RSF, from which Reuters verified the location as being over the western side of al-Fashir, showed cars and individuals on foot leaving the city. It was unclear whether these were civilians or soldiers. Footage seen on social media that Reuters was unable to verify showed scores of alleged fighters in RSF custody.

WAR DISPLACES MILLIONS AND LEADS TO HUNGER

The war between the Sudanese army and the RSF began in April 2023, when the two forces, previously sharing power, fell out over plans to integrate their forces during a transition towards democracy.

The fighting has displaced millions, plunged half of Sudan into hunger, and spread disease throughout the country.

Over the weekend, the United States convened Emirati, Egyptian and Saudi Arabian officials to discuss a possible peace plan.

Sudan's foreign ministry said officials were in Washington for bilateral talks. However, the army-led Sovereign Council denied reports that representatives of both forces were engaging in indirect talks.

(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir, Aaron McNicholas and Menna Alaa El Din; Editing by Kate Mayberry and David Holmes)