The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns of a sharp decline in the humanitarian situation in El Fasher, the besieged capital of Sudan’s North Darfur State. OCHA reports that civilians in El Fasher continue to endure relentless attacks, acute hunger, and cholera. The population faces daily threats from shelling, airstrikes, and drone attacks — with fierce clashes reported in north-eastern districts of the state capital in recent weeks.
According to an OCHA update released on Friday, people continue to flee the heightened insecurity in El Fasher. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people who fled El Fasher are now living in dire conditions in Tawila, also in North Darfur.
Epicenter of suffering
El Fasher has been under siege for more than 500 days and the town and its surrounding areas have become an epicenter of suffering since the beginning of Sudan’s brutal conflict in April 2023. Estimates suggest that more than 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, remain trapped and face constant danger without a safe passage out.
OCHA reports that essential services in the city are further crumbling amid ongoing hostilities and lack of funding. Water trucking to El Fasher’s only functioning hospital has been suspended, and community kitchens have been forced to close due to insecurity and funding shortages, leaving families facing starvation.
Reports of people dying from hunger are on the rise. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports that over 10,000 children have been treated for severe acute malnutrition since January. In recent weeks, at least 63 people, primarily women and children, reportedly died of malnutrition in a single week.
Earlier this week, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Sudan expressed grave concern about the deteriorating situation in El Fasher. They reiterated their urgent calls for immediate measures to protect civilians in and around the city.
The NGOs called on the UN Security Council and its member states, including those supporting parties to the conflict; regional actors, including the African Union; and donor governments to take concrete, monitored action to protect civilians in El Fasher.
The population of El Fasher has endured relentless shelling and airstrikes while being denied access to lifesaving humanitarian assistance as warring parties vie for control of the strategic city.
Markets, hospitals, mosques, and displacement camps have been repeatedly targeted, leaving residents without food, medicine, or shelter. Satellite images reveal that more than 30 kilometers of earthen barriers now surround the city, restricting movement and trapping people inside.
Those attempting to flee are subject to extortion, ethnic targeting, sexual violence, and killings along the escape routes. Those remaining in the town face an imminent risk of mass atrocities.
On September 19, El Fasher witnessed one of the deadliest incidents in recent months. A mosque near the Abu Shouk camp for displaced people was hit while prayers were in progress, killing dozens of worshippers, including children. The attack marked yet another atrocity in a city plagued by months of relentless violence.
Denise Brown, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, condemned the incident in the strongest terms. She also warned that the siege of El Fasher has created a "severe humanitarian crisis," cutting off food, medicine, and other life-saving supplies; she urged immediate humanitarian access.
Her statement echoed the repeated calls of UN Secretary-General António Guterres for an immediate ceasefire in and around El Fasher.
On Thursday, UNICEF reported that the previous day, the main building within the agency’s office compound in El Fasher was attacked multiple times. Shelling killed at least seven people who had taken shelter in the compound and injured others.
Although UNICEF has not occupied the compound since March 2024, it remains protected under UN privileges and immunities. Just days earlier, armed individuals entered the compound and took control of communications equipment and several UNICEF vehicles.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has scaled up its assistance in Tawila, providing life-saving food and nutrition aid to some 450,000 people last month. Other aid agencies are also on the ground providing support. However, US$120 million is urgently needed to address the immediate needs of the population in the area.
Humanitarian diplomacy
On Wednesday, UN relief chief Tom Fletcher met with Sudan’s transitional prime minister, Kamil Idris, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. During their meeting, they discussed ways to raise awareness of the Sudan crisis and the deteriorating situation in El Fasher.
According to OCHA, Fletcher also addressed the UN’s ongoing efforts to transport pre-positioned aid supplies to the region. The meeting centered on increasing humanitarian access and the UN's presence, as well as ensuring that life-saving aid reaches those in need.
On Thursday, Fletcher spoke with General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), by phone to discuss grave concerns over the humanitarian crisis in El Fasher. He stressed the urgent need to protect civilians, halt the fighting, and ensure safe humanitarian access.
In a social media post following the call, Fletcher emphasized that millions of people depend on action and highlighted the need to increase efforts across Sudan, including in the Darfur and Kordofan regions.
The wider conflict
OCHA reported on Thursday that the Kordofan region, another epicenter of the ongoing war, is sliding deeper into a humanitarian catastrophe as fighting intensifies, blockades tighten and civilians endure siege-like conditions.
The UN has verified significant civilian casualties from airstrikes and ground assaults in recent weeks, with schools and health facilities being targeted more frequently. Civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence, and nearly one million internally displaced people (IDPs) are straining fragile infrastructure and resources.
Elsewhere in Sudan, aid organizations are doing everything possible to support those in need. This week, the Humanitarian Coordinator concluded a two-day visit to the capital, Khartoum, accompanied by UN agencies and partner organizations.
Brown met with government officials, community members, and frontline workers to discuss urgent humanitarian priorities. According to OCHA, joint efforts are underway to assist the recovery of affected people and help communities in Khartoum rebuild.
On Friday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) noted that people are returning to areas deemed safe, despite the ongoing conflict and growing risks. In Khartoum, they are returning to damaged shelters with limited access to water and food.
The IOM stressed that more needs to be done, as two out of every three returnees in the capital live in damaged shelters that require repair.
Sudan’s unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe
Since April 15, 2023, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been engaged in a devastating war that has caused an unprecedented humanitarian emergency. As a result, over 30 million people require urgent relief, making this the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
Sudan is also grappling with the world's largest and most severe displacement crisis. As of September, more than 14 million civilians remain uprooted. Over 4 million of those displaced have crossed into neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
Sudan is also facing the world's largest hunger crisis due to the war. Across the country, approximately 25 million people are experiencing acute hunger. Of those, at least 638,000 are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 5), and 8.1 million are experiencing emergency levels (IPC Phase 4).
Sudan is the only country in the world where famine has been confirmed in multiple areas and continues to spread. Ten locations have been declared famine zones: eight in North Darfur State and two in the Western Nuba Mountains. Seventeen other areas, including parts of Darfur, the Nuba Mountains, Khartoum, and Al Jazira, are at risk of famine.
The conflict has been marked by shocking levels of violence and brutality against civilians, especially in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. In particular, the RSF has been accused of mass killings and rape as a means of warfare. However, both warring parties have been implicated in serious war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Thousands have been targeted based on their ethnicity, resulting in death, injury, abuse, and exploitation — forcing more and more people to flee the violence. Human rights investigators have found disturbing evidence indicating that civilians have been deliberately targeted, displaced, and starved.
The UN Human Rights Council-created Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan has documented numerous attacks on civilians and essential infrastructure, concluding that both warring parties have violated international human rights and humanitarian law. Most of these violations amount to war crimes, and actions taken by the Rapid Support Forces may constitute crimes against humanity, including persecution and extermination.