BERLIN 

Germany on Tuesday urged an immediate end to "killings, rape, and torture" in Sudan after paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the western Sudanese city of El Fasher, the capital of the North Darfur region.

“As RSF fighters control large parts of El Fasher, Sudan, we urge those responsible to stop all violence against civilians trapped in the city. Killings, rape & torture must end now,” the German Foreign Ministry said on US social media company X.

“The RSF leadership committed publicly to protect civilians. They will be held accountable,” it added.

On Monday, the ministry had called for an immediate ceasefire, expressing grave concern over the growing number of civilian casualties as the RSF advanced into El Fasher.

Sudan’s army chief and chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council said on Monday that the military decided to withdraw from El-Fasher to prevent further “systematic destruction and killing” of civilians by the RSF.

The RSF had been besieging El-Fasher since May 2024, as the Sudanese army tried to break the siege of the city, which serves as the humanitarian operations center for the five Darfur states.

The army and the RSF have been engaged in a civil war since April 2023, resulting in thousands of deaths and displacing millions.