The African Union (AU) on Tuesday called for an immediate end to fighting in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher following an all-out assault by paramilitary forces.
El-Fasher is one of five state capitals in Sudan's western Darfur region and the only one not in the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been battling Sudan's regular army since April 2023.
Darfur, a region the size of France and home to around a quarter of Sudan's population, is deeply scarred by years of ethnic violence committed by the Janjaweed -- the militia from which the RSF emerged.
The RSF launched an offensive this weekend in the city of some two million people after a months-long siege.
The African Union Commission said its chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat "strongly condemns the current escalation of the crisis and spread of violence."
Mahamat "calls for an immediate cessation of the fighting inside and outside of El-Fasher," it added.
Mahamat also called on the AU's Peace and Security Council to "urgently consider the situation".
Both sides in the Sudan conflict have been accused of war crimes, including targeting civilians, indiscriminately shelling residential areas, and looting or blocking vital humanitarian aid.
The World Health Organization said this month at least 20,000 people have been killed since the war began, but some estimates show up to 150,000 dead, according to US envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello.
The war has also displaced more than 10 million people -- a fifth of Sudan's population -- both within the country and across borders.