Guterres warns of "terrible escalation" of fighting in Sudan’s al-Fashir

KUALA LUMPUR - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday of a "terrible escalation" of fighting in Sudan's city of al-Fashir on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Malaysia.

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said on Sunday they had captured the army headquarters in al-Fashir, the Sudanese army's last stronghold in the Darfur region in the west of the country.

Since April 2023, a war between the Sudanese army and the RSF has left tens of thousands of people dead, and created the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.

"This represents a terrible escalation in the conflict," Guterres said, adding that "the level of suffering that we are witnessing in Sudan is unbearable."

Guterres said outside interference in Sudan is undermining the prospects for peace.

“The international community must call on countries to stop supplying weapons to parties involved in the Sudan conflict,” he said.