The UN Security Council has demanded that Sudanese paramilitary forces call off their eight-week siege of El Fasher, a city in Darfur region where fighting has sparked genocide concerns.<\/p>\n
Sudan’s army has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for more than a year, in a civil war that has killed thousands and forced millions from their homes.<\/p>\n
El Fasher is the last major urban centre in Darfur that remains in the hands of Sudan’s army.<\/p>\n
The security council has called for “an immediate halt to the fighting” and withdrawal of all troops from the city.<\/p>\n
The 15-member council on Thursday adopted a British-drafted resolution, with 14 votes in favour, while Russia abstained.<\/p>\n
It expressed \u201cgrave concern\u201d at the spreading violence and credible reports that the RSF are carrying out \u201cethnically motivated violence\u201d in El Fasher city.<\/p>\n
In a statement<\/a>, the council called on the rival forces to \u201cto seek an immediate cessation of hostilities, leading to a sustainable resolution to the conflict, through dialogue\u201d.<\/p>\n The resolution called on all parties to allow civilians who wish to leave El Fasher to do so and remove obstacles to humanitarian access.<\/p>\n Britain’s UN envoy Barbara Woodward told the council that “an attack on the city would be catastrophic for the 1.5 million people sheltering in the city”.<\/p>\n “This council has sent a strong signal to the parties to the conflict today. This brutal and unjust conflict needs to end,” she added.<\/p>\n Human Rights Watch’s Louis Charbonneau said the resolution “puts the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces on notice that the world is watching”.<\/p>\n The security council also urged member states to “refrain from external interference,” and demanded compliance with the arms embargo on the country.<\/p>\n El Fashir’s last functioning hospital has been forced to close down after an attack on the facility<\/a>.<\/p>\n More than 130,000 residents have fled the city due to fighting between April and May, the UN said.<\/p>\n