The United Nations and rights groups are calling for an end to the violence in Sudan as the second anniversary of its civil war looms and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has intensified its attacks in Darfur, killing dozens of people in recent days.

As representatives from dozens of countries are to meet in London on Tuesday to try to resolve the Sudan crisis, Human Rights Watch urged the international community to “urgently work to protect civilians and guarantee safe, unfettered aid provision” in the country.

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“For the last two years, Sudan’s warring parties have subjected the population to horrific abuses and suffering, and blocked aid, plunging the country into the world’s worst humanitarian disasters,” Mohamed Osman, Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Monday.

“International leaders should ensure that discussions to improve the humanitarian situation go hand in hand with commitments at the highest level to protect civilians.”

This week marks two years since war broke out on April 15, 2023, between the RSF and the Sudanese military. It has killed thousands of people, displaced some 13 million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and sparked a hunger crisis in parts of the country.

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In recent weeks, the army has managed to push RSF fighters out of the capital, Khartoum, but the paramilitary group has been claiming advances in the western region of Darfur, where an already dire humanitarian crisis has been worsening.

On Sunday, the RSF said it took control of the Zamzam camp for displaced people near el-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur state.

The assault has killed dozens of people, including 23 children and nine aid workers, according to the UN.

‘Thousands of displaced trapped and cut off from aid’

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Monday that the fighting near el-Fasher, which has been under an RSF blockade, is hampering access to humanitarian assistance.

“Thousands of displaced people are trapped & cut off from aid,” OCHA Sudan said in a social media post.

“Hostilities must stop now. All those engaged in the conflict must ensure safe passage for civilians and humanitarian access.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had condemned the attacks on civilians in and around el-Fasher, urging an end to the fighting.

“The Secretary-General emphasizes that attacks directed against civilians and indiscriminate attacks are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law,” Guterres said in a statement issued via his spokesperson on Sunday.

“Humanitarian relief personnel and medical personnel must be respected and protected. The perpetrators of these attacks must be brought to justice. Safe, unhindered and sustained access to the area, including the Zamzam camp, is urgently needed. Civilians who want to leave must be allowed to do so safely.”

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In a joint statement on Monday, Egypt and Qatar also expressed “grave concerns over the ongoing armed conflict in the Sudan and emphasized the importance of an immediate cessation of military operations”.

Warring rival generals

But the violence continued on Monday. Al Jazeera Arabic quoted local sources in reporting that RSF fighters were shelling the Abu Shouk camp for displaced people outside el-Fasher.

Sudan has seen growing instability since longtime President Omar al-Bashir was removed from power in 2019 after months of antigovernment protests.

In October 2021, the Sudanese military staged a coup against the civilian government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, leading to his resignation in early 2022.

Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his rival general Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the RSF, shared power after the coup but then started fighting for control of the state and its resources in April 2023.

Davis Makori, humanitarian policy and advocacy specialist, highlighted the impact of the war on children – including psychological trauma, gender-based violence and inability to attend school – saying minors make up half of the civilians affected by the conflict.

“While there are pockets of states in Sudan that are not actually active conflict zones, this humanitarian crisis has spread to almost every facet of life,” Makori told Al Jazeera.