“What little is known so far about the current conditions in El Fasher is truly appalling,” said Ross Smith, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response at the World Food Program (WFP). “We know there are between 70,000 and 100,000 people potentially trapped within the city itself.”
Fighters from the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, who have been at war with the Sudanese army since April 2023, invaded El Fasher, the regional capital of North Darfur, in October, after a 500-day siege.
That ordeal reduced people to eating peanut shells and animal feed, the UN human rights office warned at the time, while satellite images showed bloodstains from mass killings of civilians and executions based on ethnicity.
Access agreement
Ensuring access for aid teams remains an urgent priority, humanitarian agencies insist, amid network blackouts that have largely cut off communication with those who remain inside El Fasher.
Survivors’ testimonies “describe the city as a crime scene with mass killings, burned bodies and abandoned markets,” Smith explained.
“We asked and continue to ask for unhindered access to El Fasher to urgently respond to those still trapped in the city,” the WFP official stressed.
“From yesterday’s discussions I understand that we have an agreement in principle with the Rapid Support Forces on a set of minimum conditions for entering the city; therefore, we anticipate being able to do so very soon, to conduct some initial assessments and reconnaissance. After more than a year and a half under siege, the essential elements for survival have been completely destroyed.”
Deserted city turns into ‘huge’ IDP camp
Mr. Smith noted that those who managed to flee El Fasher risked their lives on roads “littered with mines” and unexploded ordnance.
Many have found refuge in Tawila, until recently a small desert town but now “a massive and expanding displacement settlement” for more than 650,000 people, equivalent to the size of Luxembourg. Others have sought safety in Ad Dabbah, in the Northern state.
As UN aid teams and partners continue to push for access to all those in need, WFP-supported convoys are “on their way to Tawila, with enough for 700,000 people for next month,” Smith said.
“These are families who have endured famine for many months and mass atrocities and are now living in overcrowded conditions with very limited support. There is not enough shelter for people, many are housed in very makeshift structures – grass, straw structures, etc. Cholera and disease outbreaks are widespread.”
12 million displaced people
Sudan is the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 12 million people uprooted inside and outside the country.
Meanwhile, a worrying update from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, confirmed on Friday that the security situation in nearby Kordofan has deteriorated further since December 1.
After a week of intense fighting, the RSF reportedly took control of a Sudanese Armed Forces base in Babanusa, West Kordofan.
In South Kordofan, “civilians remain trapped in besieged towns such as Kadugli and Dilling, and while women, children and the elderly find ways to escape, men and youth are often left behind due to the specific high risks they face along flight routes, such as detention by armed groups for their alleged affiliation with parties to the conflict,” UNHCR said.
The latest data points to more than 40,000 people displaced from North Kordofan since November 18. “UNHCR, through partners on the ground, is responding to the urgent needs of displaced people, but access remains difficult and resources are critically low,” he said.