‘Hell on Earth’ as violence escalates in Sudan’s el-Fasher

UN says it has received only 12 percent of funds sought for war-wracked Sudan as ‘famine is closing in’.

The United Nations human rights chief has expressed horror over the escalating violence in Sudan’s North Darfur region as a top humanitarian official described the worsening situation on the ground as “hell of Earth”.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in el-Fasher without basic supplies amid fears that nearby fighting will turn into an all-out battle for the city, the last stronghold of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the western Darfur region

Its capture would be a major boost for the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as regional and international powers try to push the sides to negotiate an end to a 13-month war.

People who are currently in el-Fasher have said “the situation is like hell on Earth, where they could lose their lives at any day,” Toby Harward, the UN deputy humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, told Al Jazeera.

“There is active conflict going on, artillery attacks by the Rapid Support Forces as well as air bombardments by the Sudanese Armed Forces that are leading to new displacements,” he said on Friday. “People are trying to flee, to get to safer areas but are finding them very very hard to do.”