UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is gravely concerned about the outbreak of fighting in El Fasher, the capital city of Sudan's North Darfur state, which puts over 800,000 civilians at risk, said his deputy spokesman on Monday.

Guterres is alarmed by reports of the use of heavy weaponry in densely populated areas, resulting in dozens of civilian casualties, significant displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman, in a statement.