IGAD's Workneh condemns violence in Sudan's El Fasher, urges immediate ceasefire

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Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) executive secretary Dr Workneh Gebeyehu has expressed deep concern over the worsening situation in El-Fasher, North Darfur, following reports that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken control of the city.

Workneh, according to a statement dated October 28, 2025, strongly condemns all acts of violence against civilians and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The development comes at a time when the Sudan army admitted it had withdrawn from the strategic hub of El-Fasher

IGAD Executive Secretary Dr Workneh Gebeyehu addressing the press (File)

Fears have mounted for the safety of tens of thousands of civilians in the city in western Darfur, trapped in an 18-month siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been fighting a brutal war with Sudan's army for more than two years.

"We have agreed to withdraw the army from El-Fasher to a safer location," the army chief and de facto ruler of Sudan, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said in a speech broadcast on national television, after the RSF announced victory on Sunday.

IGAD's condemnation also follows another issued a day earlier by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said a "terrible escalation" of fighting in Sudan's famine-stricken city of El-Fasher, where paramilitary Rapid Support Forces say they have seized full control.

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.

The RSF said on Sunday it had seized full control of El-Fasher, 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.

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

Workneh, according to the statement, emphasised that the suffering of civilians in Sudan must end, and that all parties have a moral and legal duty to respect international humanitarian law, protect lives, and allow unhindered humanitarian access.

Call for swift action amid split fears

The Executive Secretary further urged regional and international partners to act swiftly in supporting humanitarian efforts and promoting dialogue toward an inclusive and lasting peace in Sudan.

Sudanese residents gather to receive free meals in Al Fasher, a city besieged by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for more than a year, in Darfur region, on August 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

“IGAD stands ready to support all genuine efforts that bring an end to the fighting and ensure the protection of civilians,” Workneh said.

The latest development in El-Fasher, according to analysts, could effectively partition Sudan, with the army holding the north, east and centre, and the RSF dominating Darfur and parts of the south.

However, the conflict has also dragged in outside forces, the UN chief added, speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of a regional summit in Malaysia.

"It's high time for the international community to tell clearly, to all countries that are interfering in this war, and that are providing weapons to the parties to the war, to stop doing that," he said.

"It is clear that... it is not only a Sudanese problem, with the army and Rapid Support Forces fighting each other," he added.

"We have more and more an external interference, which undermines the possibility of a ceasefire and of a political solution."

In 2003, Omar al-Bashir unleashed the Janjaweed militias on non-Arab communities in Darfur.

An estimated 300,000 people were killed, and close to 2.5 million people were displaced.

Key RSF leaders were members of the Janjaweed.