KHARTOUM, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan vowed Monday to retake El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, after his forces withdrew from the city that has been under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since May 2024.
In a televised address, al-Burhan, who is the chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council and commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), acknowledged the army's pullout from the strategic city -- its last stronghold in the vast Darfur region -- saying the move was aimed at protecting civilians.
"We agreed to leave the city and move to a safe location to spare the rest of the citizens and the city from further destruction," Al-Burhan said in his first public comments since the RSF claimed full control of El Fasher on Sunday.
He pledged to recapture areas held by the RSF, saying, "We can turn the tables every time and bring every inch of land back into the homeland."
The RSF announced Sunday that its fighters had seized El Fasher after months of clashes with the SAF and allied groups.
The Sudan Doctors Network, a volunteer medical group, said dozens of civilians were killed in El Fasher following the RSF takeover. It accused the paramilitary of carrying out "ethnically based executions" and a "horrific massacre," as well as looting hospitals and pharmacies, leaving the sick and wounded without care.
The United Nations and aid agencies voiced alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation. The International Organization for Migration said it was tracking new waves of displacement from El Fasher as families fled with little access to food, water or shelter.
Residents remain "trapped and terrified -- shelled, starving, and without access to healthcare or safety," the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said, renewing calls for an immediate ceasefire "in El Fasher, in Darfur, and throughout Sudan."
UN reports estimate that more than 700,000 people have fled El Fasher since fighting between SAF and RSF began in April 2023. Those who remain face severe shortages of food, water, and medicine, and aid agencies warn of deadly disease outbreaks threatening thousands of civilians.
Despite repeated UN and Security Council appeals for a ceasefire, international mediation has failed to stop fighting in Darfur and the neighboring Kordofan region.
Sudan's war between the army and the RSF, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and left much of the country on the brink of famine. ■
