RSF claims control of El-Fasher

SUDAN'S paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said at the weekend it had seized full control of El-Fasher, the last major city in the expansive Darfur region not in its hands, in a potential turning point in the country's unrelenting civil war.

- 

The announcement came just hours after it claimed to have captured the army's main base in the city, which it has besieged since May 2024.

In a statement, the group said it had "extended control over the city of El-Fasher from the grip of mercenaries and militias," referring to the Sudanese army, with which it has been in a brutal war since April 2023.

We could not independently verify the claim, and the army and its allies did not respond to requests for comment.

Tom Fletcher, head of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), called for safe passage for civilians trapped in the fighting.

Access to the region remains extremely limited due to the intense fighting.

Local pro-army fighters called the Popular Resistance accused the RSF earlier at the weekend of running a "media disinformation campaign" to weaken morale.

They insisted that residents were still "resisting in the face of terrorist militias".

We were unable to reach civilians in El-Fasher due to a telecommunications blackout and disrupted Starlink satellite connections.