JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A paramilitary group accused of genocide says it has seized the last Sudanese army stronghold in the Darfur region. The move raises fears of ethnic cleansing and concerns the war-torn country could ultimately split in two.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said Sunday they had overrun the army's base in the city of El Fasher, which has been under siege for more than a year. The government — which has been fighting a civil war against the militia since 2023 — has yet to confirm this.

The U.S., U.N. experts and the Sudanese army all argue that the RSF — which grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militia that fought in Darfur in the early 2000s — and allied ethnic-Arab militias have been committing genocide. They say the targets are African ethnic groups in Darfur.

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