Residents are fleeing missile fire and sheltering without food and water amid escalating fighting in the Sudanese city of al-Fashir, witnesses and aid workers said, adding to fears of an all-out battle.

The city is the Sudanese army's last stronghold in the western Darfur region. Its capture would be a major boost for the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as regional and international powers try to push the sides to negotiate an end to a 13-month war.

Locals and aid workers fear the clashes could also lead to a new round of bloodletting after ethnically-driven violence blamed on the RSF and its allies elsewhere in Darfur last year.