BRUSSELS
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot on Tuesday condemned the ongoing assault by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, Sudan, calling the situation “appalling.”
“Civilians are paying an unbearable price. These atrocities must stop now,” he wrote on US social media platform X.
He urged respect for international humanitarian law and called on all parties to protect civilians and allow immediate humanitarian access.
Separately, the European Union also voiced grave concern over the surge in violence in the Darfur region, urging all parties to ensure humanitarian access and accountability for violations.
“The EU is incredibly concerned about the uptick in violence in Darfur,” European Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said at a midday press briefing in Brussels.
El Anouni said there has been an ongoing siege by the RSF in the region, leading to severe shortages of food, water, and medical care. “Hundreds of thousands of civilians are in the town and are in a situation of extreme distress,” he noted.
He called on all parties to “come to an arrangement in line with the relevant UN resolutions” and to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The EU is following the situation closely with its partners, El Anouni said, stressing that “all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights should be registered, and those responsible must be held accountable for the atrocities they have committed.”
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 26,000 people fled El-Fasher within 48 hours due to the ongoing clashes.
Several local groups reported ethnically motivated killings in the city, which has been under the RSF siege since May 2024.
Since April 15, 2023, the army and the RSF have been locked in a war that numerous regional and international mediations have failed to end. The conflict has killed about 20,000 people and displaced over 15 million as refugees and internally displaced persons, according to UN and local reports.
