After nearly a year of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Antonio Guterres urged the warring parties to halt hostilities during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

His appeal comes as UN Security Council members are negotiating a British draft resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access - which could be voted on as soon as Friday.

The UN Secretary General said a cessation of hostilities must lead to a definitive silencing of the guns - and set out a firm path towards lasting peace.

He warned that the humanitarian crisis in Sudan was reaching colossal proportions and that the human rights situation continued to spiral out of control.

After nearly a year, at least 14,000 people have been killed.

The war risks triggering the world's largest hunger crisis, with reports of children dying from malnutrition - and it is already the biggest displacement crisis on earth.