BRUSSELS 

European Commissioner for Equality and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib condemned the escalating violence in El-Fasher, Sudan, urging all parties Monday to protect civilians and ensure their safe passage.

In a post on the US social media company X’s platform, Lahbib described the situation as a "nightmare reaching its peak," highlighting that civilians have been killed and families forced to flee amid attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"We recall the parties of the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law. Civilians must be protected and granted safe passage," she wrote.

Last Thursday, four UN agencies -- the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Program (WFP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) -- said that 260,000 civilians are trapped in El-Fasher, including 130,000 children suffering from acute food shortages and a lack of health care services.

El-Fasher, the capital of the North Darfur region, has witnessed fierce fighting for weeks between the army and the RSF following a multi-front assault by the paramilitary group, which has surrounded the city from five directions in an attempt to seize control of it due to its strategic importance.

The RSF has been besieging El-Fasher since May 10, 2024.

Fighting between the army and the RSF has been taking place since April 2023, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.