The city, in the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan, is home to more than 1.8 million residents and displaced people, and is the latest front in a war between the Sudanese army and the RSF which began in April 2023.

The RSF, which has taken over the capital Khartoum and most of western Sudan, is also seeking to advance further within the centre, as United Nations agencies say the people of Sudan are at "imminent risk of famine."

Some 130 000 people have fled their homes in al-Fashir as a result of the fighting in April and May, the United Nations has said.

The RSF did not respond to a request for comment.

South Hospital was the only hospital in al-Fashir capable of handling daily mass casualty events, according to MSF.

--Reuters--