The United Nations human rights chief has warned that the Sudanese city of al-Fashir is in an "extremely precarious situation", with the likelihood of "ethnically motivated violations and atrocities" rising after paramilitary forces claimed control.
Since May 2024, al-Fashir has been besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been fighting a war with Sudan's army for over two years.
The RSF said it had seized full control of al-Fashir, the last major city in the vast western Darfur region not in its hands, in a potential turning point in the country's unrelenting civil war.
The claim could not be independently verified, and the army has yet to comment.
However, the Popular Resistance, a local pro-army militia, said the army was in "more fortified positions" and that residents were still "resisting in the face of terrorist militias".
Volker Türk, UN high commissioner for human rights warned in a statement overnight: "The risk of further large-scale, ethnically-motivated violations and atrocities in al-Fashir is mounting by the day."
Türk called for "urgent and concrete action ... to ensure the protection of civilians in al-Fashir and safe passage for those trying to reach relative safety".
He said his office had received reports of summary executions of civilians trying to flee, with indications of ethnic motivations for killings.
His statement described multiple distressing videos showing "dozens of unarmed men being shot or lying dead", surrounded by RSF fighters, who accused them of fighting for Sudan's army.
It also cited reports that hundreds of people had been detained while trying to flee, including a journalist.
The RSF said in a statement it was committed to providing "safe corridors for all those who wish to move to other locations, as well as the necessary protection for all those in the city".
"Given past realities in North Darfur, the likelihood of sexual violence against women and girls in particular is extremely high," the rights office said.
It also highlighted reports of numerous civilian deaths, including those of local humanitarian volunteers, due to heavy artillery shelling between 22 and 26 October.
As well as information on severe food shortages and exorbitant prices, the office said it had received reports that RSF fighters had summarily executed five men attempting to bring supplies into the city.
Summary executions of civilians by RSF fighters were also being reported in Bara city in North Kordofan state in western Sudan, it said, with dozens of civilians allegedly killed.
"The RSF must urgently take concrete steps to end and prevent abuses against civilians in both al-Fashir and Bara, including ethnically-motivated violence and reprisal attacks," Türk said.
"I remind the RSF commanders of their obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure the protection of civilians and to ensure the passage of essential supplies and humanitarian assistance."
International law prohibits violence against those not taking part in hostilities, and bans the use of starvation as a weapon of war, he said.
The RSF and the army, both of whom have been accused of committing atrocities, have ignored calls for a ceasefire despite repeated international appeals.
