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IOM chief calls for ceasefire to allow aid groups to reach Sudanese civilians trapped in war-torn Darfur region.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The head of the United Nations\u2019 migration agency has called for a ceasefire and a humanitarian corridor to help tens of thousands of civilians trapped in el-Fasher, the city in Sudan\u2019s Darfur region that fell to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) last month.<\/p>\n Amy Pope, director-general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that \u201cthe primary concern is getting access\u201d to residents who have been largely cut off from humanitarian aid and services in el-Fasher.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n \u201cWhen humanitarian actors are themselves at risk \u2013 when they\u2019re killed, when they\u2019re shot, when they\u2019re detained \u2013 we can\u2019t get the people what they need to survive,\u201d Pope said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe primary issue is ensuring that there is a ceasefire, a humanitarian corridor, so that aid groups can bring in that aid to the civilians who are very much caught in the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n Human rights groups have accused the RSF, which has been battling the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for control of Sudan since April 2023, of committing widescale massacres in its capture of el-Fasher on October 26.<\/p>\n While thousands of residents remain stuck in el-Fasher, the capital of Sudan\u2019s North Darfur state, nearly 90,000 others have fled since the RSF\u2019s takeover, according to the latest IOM figures.<\/p>\n On Wednesday,\u00a0Pope said displaced families have described dangerous journeys out of el-Fasher.<\/p>\n \u201cThey spoke about seeing dead bodies as they walked. They spoke about having to create makeshift trenches to avoid being shot at, or being harmed by the drones. They spoke of unspeakable, unbearable, sexual trauma [and] sexual abuse,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe stories are really harrowing, and they\u2019re happening now even as we speak.\u201d<\/p>\n Her comments come a day after the IOM warned that humanitarian aid efforts in Sudan were \u201con the brink of collapse\u201d due to continued insecurity and a lack of funding.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n