The army-aligned governor of Sudan's Darfur region called for the protection of civilians in the stricken city of El-Fasher on Monday, after paramilitaries claimed to have seized it following a brutal 18-month siege.

Pro-democracy activists reported fighting "in the vicinity of El-Fasher airport and several areas west of the city".

The group, known as a local resistance committee, said in a statement there was a "complete absence of air support" to protect residents.

The Rapid Support Forces said on Sunday they had captured the city, the last state capital in the vast Darfur region yet to fall to the paramilitaries.

Communications remain cut across the city, including satellite networks, leaving El-Fasher in a "media blackout", according to the Sudanese Journalists' Syndicate.

The Uni

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