The United Nations has made an urgent call for the protection and safe passage of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Sudan’s el-Fasher as fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group have claimed to have seized control of the besieged city.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher on Monday sounded the alarm amid reports of civilian casualties and forced displacement in the capital city of North Darfur state.

The RSF has been laying siege to el-Fasher for nearly 18 months in a bid to take control of the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in the vast western region of Darfur. The fighting has trapped at least 250,000 civilians and forced hundreds of thousands of others to flee their homes.

“With fighters pushing further into the city and escape routes cut off, hundred

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