Tánaiste Simon Harris is among the signatories to a statement expressing “deep alarm over reports of systematic violence against civilians in Sudan” after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the western city of El Fasher.

The statement has been signed by foreign ministers and senior officials from 19 EU member states, including Germany and Spain, as well as the UK, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.

“Deliberate targeting of civilians, ethnically motivated mass killings, conflict-related sexual violence, starvation as a method of warfare, and obstruction of humanitarian access are abhorrent violations of international humanitarian law,” it says.

“Such acts, if substantiated, constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law.

“We condemn all atrocities in the strongest possible terms and demand that the violence stops immediately.”

The statement calls on all the parties in the Sudanese civil war to agree to a ceasefire and a three-month humanitarian truce.

It concludes: “We are concerned about attempts to partition Sudan and reaffirm our support for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the country and for the right of its people to live in peace, dignity, and justice without external interference.

“We call on the parties to come to the negotiating table. Only a broad and inclusive Sudanese-owned political process can resolve Sudan’s challenges.”