Aid convoys remain blocked from reaching hundreds of thousands trapped near the frontlines, as Sudan’s military government and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia fight for control.
From Tawila, 50 kilometers from El Fasher in North Darfur, Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown described immense obstacles to accessing the area: “It took us five days, through three countries, three different airplanes, and three days of driving. We had to detour due to numerous frontlines within Sudan. Reaching our destination is very difficult.”
Brown called Tawila “one of the epicentres of a humanitarian catastrophe,” noting it now hosts about 600,000 displaced people, mostly fleeing battles around the besieged regional capital El Fasher since April.
Nearly 12 million people have been displaced across Sudan, marking it the world’s largest displacement crisis.
Amid concerns that El Fasher, the last major city in Darfur still under government control, could fall to the RSF after over 500 days of siege, Brown’s appeal comes urgently. Aid groups warn about 260,000 civilians are trapped without safe exits as the RSF allegedly builds barriers to block movement and supplies. Mines and unexploded ordnance further restrict key roads.
Humanitarian convoys carrying food and medicine have been stalled for months. Aid workers face violence, with at least 120 killed since the war started in April 2023.
“Stop the violence, stop the war, let us through,” Brown emphasized, asserting readiness to assist but highlighting the need for security guarantees.
Malnutrition, cholera, and dengue fever are spreading rapidly in overcrowded displacement sites. Supplies are scarce, clean water is limited, and sanitation is poor, creating a “combustible situation” of disease and hunger, Brown warned.
Conflict-related sexual violence is widespread, including rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, and sexual violence amounting to torture. “This is a major protection issue, and we have no indication of any slowing down,” she noted.
The crisis is exacerbated by severe funding shortfalls. With only three months left in 2025, Sudan’s $4.2 billion humanitarian plan is just 25 percent funded. “Every meeting I’ve attended in Sudan has been about huge, acute need and the limited response due to insufficient resources,” Brown stated.
Local and international NGOs warn that global inaction is worsening the crisis. Civil society groups issued a joint appeal for urgent humanitarian access and the creation of evacuation corridors for civilians trapped in El Fasher, stressing that decisive action can prevent further massacres.
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