The United States is troubled by reports of an imminent attack on El Fasher, Sudan’s North Darfur State, and is calling on the warring parties to immediately cease further attacks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.
“The United States calls on the warring parties to immediately cease further attacks in and around El Fasher to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law concerning civilians,” Blinken said in a statement released by the State Department.
“We echo Governor Nimr Abdulrahman’s appeal to the warring parties to allow civilians to safely move to more secure areas,” Blinken stressed.
Since April, the war between the Sudanese military loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF,) commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has killed more than 9,000 people and displaced over 5.6 million.
The two sides returned to talks last week in Jeddah brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia, but US officials say the goals for now are limited to pushing through ceasefires and allowing in humanitarian aid.
Increased fighting in El Fasher follows recent RSF attacks in Nyala, Zalengei of the Darfur region.