UN humanitarians warned on Friday that the essentials for survival in the town overrun by paramilitary fighters in October have been “completely obliterated.”
“The little that’s known at the moment about the current conditions in El Fasher is indeed beyond horrific,” said Ross Smith, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response for the World Food Programme (WFP). “We know that there’s anywhere between 70 and 100,000 people potentially remaining trapped inside the city itself.”
In October, paramilitary Rapid Support Forces fighters, who have been at war with the Sudanese army since April 2023, overran El Fasher – the regional capital of North Darfur – after a 500-day siege.
During that ordeal, people were reduced to eating peanut shells and animal feed, the UN human rights office warned, while satellite footage indicated bloodstains from mass killings of civilians and executions based on ethnicity.
The Secretary-General António Guterres expressed alarm on Friday over reports that at least 30 civilians were killed, with many others injured, in a drone strike in South Darfur State on Monday.
He condemned all attacks on civilians and demanded that parties abide by their obligations under international law, the UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists.
Calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and resumption of talks, Mr. Guterres reiterated his call on countries with influence over combatants to compel an immediate halt to the fighting and stop the flow of arms.
Securing access for aid teams remains an urgent priority amid network blackouts that have largely cut off communication with those inside El Fasher.
Testimonies from survivors “describe the city as a crime scene with mass killings, burnt bodies, and abandoned markets,” Mr. Smith explained.
“We are calling for unimpeded access into El Fasher to urgently respond to those that remain trapped in the city,” the WFP official stressed.
“I understand from discussions yesterday that we have agreement in principle with the Rapid Support Forces for a set of minimum conditions to enter the city; so, we anticipate being able to do that very soon, to perform initial assessments and reconnaissance. After more than a year and a half under siege, the essentials for survival have been completely obliterated.”
Mr. Smith noted that those who managed to flee El Fasher risked their lives along roads “littered with mines” and unexploded ordnance.
Many have reached shelter in Tawila – once a small desert town but now a massive displacement settlement for over 650,000 people, equivalent to the size of Luxembourg. Others sought safety in Ad Dabbah in Northern State.
As UN aid teams and partners continue to push for access to all those in need, WFP-supported convoys are “en route to Tawila now, with enough for 700,000 people for the next month,” Mr. Smith said.
“These families have endured famine for many months and mass atrocities and are now living in overcrowded conditions with very limited support. There’s not enough shelter, many are staying in makeshift structures: grass, straw structures, etc. Cholera and disease outbreaks are widespread.”
Sudan is the world’s largest displacement crisis, with over 12 million people uprooted inside and outside the country.
Meanwhile, a worrying update from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, on Friday confirmed that the security situation in nearby Kordofan has deteriorated further since 1 December.
After a week of heavy fighting, the RSF reportedly seized control of a Sudanese Armed Forces base in Babanusa, West Kordofan.
In South Kordofan, “civilians remain trapped in besieged cities such as Kadugli and Dilling, and as women, children, and the elderly find ways to escape, men and youth are often left behind due to specific high risks they face along flight routes such as detention by armed groups for perceived affiliation with parties to the conflict,” UNHCR said.
Latest data points to more than 40,000 people displaced from North Kordofan since 18 November. “UNHCR, through partners on the ground, is responding to the urgent needs of those displaced, but access remains challenging, and resources are critically low,” it said.
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