DUBAI – In a collective plea for peace, the foreign ministers of Germany, Jordan, and the United Kingdom have urgently called for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing Sudanese conflict. This appeal comes amid alarming reports following the capture of the last major city in Darfur by a paramilitary faction. The ministers described the unfolding situation in dire, catastrophic terms.

The United Nations has raised alarms about the Rapid Support Forces’ actions in the Darfur city of el-Fasher, with reports of over 450 individuals being killed in a hospital. Allegations have surfaced of ethnically targeted violence and sexual assaults on civilians. Although the RSF has denied such killings, evidence from satellite imagery and social media suggests a grim scenario of mass violence, as corroborated by accounts from those who have managed to flee the city.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, addressing the Manama Dialogue security summit in Bahrain, expressed grave concern over the developments in el-Fasher. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ takeover of the city has sparked international outcry.

“While leadership and global collaboration have achieved some progress in Gaza, they have notably fallen short in addressing the humanitarian disaster and the severe conflict in Sudan. The recent reports from Darfur reveal horrific atrocities,” Cooper stated.

“The situation is marked by mass executions, starvation, and the horrific use of rape as a weapon of war, with the greatest toll being on women and children. This represents one of the most significant humanitarian crises of the 21st century. The prolonged neglect of this brutal conflict has only exacerbated the suffering,” she added.

She added that “no amount of aid can resolve a crisis of this magnitude until the guns fall silent.”

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul echoed Cooper’s concern, directly calling out the RSF for its violence in el-Fasher.

“Sudan is is absolutely an apocalyptic situation,” Wadephul said.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Sudan has not received “the attention it deserves. A humanitarian crisis of inhumane proportions has taken place there.”

“We’ve got to stop that,” he added.

Bahrain’s government late on Wednesday rescinded an accreditation for The Associated Press to cover the summit, after a “post-approval review” of that permission. The government did not elaborate on why the visa was revoked. Earlier that day, the AP published a story on long-detained activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja beginning an “open-ended” hunger strike in Bahrain over his internationally criticized imprisonment.

Al-Khawaja halted his hunger strike late on Friday after receiving letters from the European Union and Denmark regarding his case, his daughter Maryam al-Khawaja said.