In brief
With over a year of blocked food supplies, residents of El-Fasher confront starvation as the humanitarian crisis deepens in Sudan's civil war. The World Food Programme continues to push for aid access while children's malnutrition rates surge.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a grave warning regarding the impending starvation of families trapped in the besieged Sudanese city of El-Fasher. The ongoing civil war in Sudan, now entering its third year, has escalated into one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history. The WFP noted that road access to El-Fasher in the western Darfur region has been completely cut off for over a year, leaving an estimated 300,000 residents at the mercy of relentless violence.As the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) maintain a siege of nearly 16 months, the situation continues to deteriorate. Local activists have already reported instances of starvation-related fatalities in El-Fasher, which has become engulfed in turmoil following a power struggle between the army and the RSF that erupted in April 2023. According to UNICEF, malnutrition has reached alarming rates across Sudan, with many children suffering from severe malnourishment.Recently, North Darfur Governor Al-Hafiz Bakhit, aligned with the military government, issued an urgent plea for support, describing the dire living conditions in El-Fasher as unbearable. Following a recent escalation in fighting, the RSF has intensified its efforts to capture the city, which marks the last stronghold for Sudan’s military-led government in the region. UN statistics from July revealed that 38% of children under five in camps for internally displaced persons near El-Fasher suffer from acute malnutrition—a clear sign that the humanitarian crisis is rapidly deepening.Amid skyrocketing food prices and dire shortages, reports have emerged of desperate measures by residents resorting to eating animal fodder and food waste. Eric Perdison, WFP’s regional director for eastern and southern Africa, lambasted the current situation, declaring, “Everyone in El-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive.” He emphasized that lives are at stake without immediate access to humanitarian assistance.Children fleeing the besieged city recount harrowing experiences marked by hunger and chaos. An eight-year-old girl named Sondos shared heart-wrenching accounts of fleeing shelling and incessant hunger, highlighting the severity of their plight. The WFP has mobilized trucks filled with food and nutritional aid, but access remains contingent upon a truce agreement with the RSF, which has been reluctant to facilitate aid delivery.While calls for a week-long humanitarian truce have been made, recent reports indicate that the RSF might reject such initiatives, fearing they would allow the military government to regroup within El-Fasher. The ongoing conflict has displaced more than a million people since it began, further complicating already fragile humanitarian efforts.Amid these grim developments, there are signs of a modest improvement in some central areas of Sudan thanks to military advances against RSF fighters. However, UNICEF officials note that funding cuts by international donors are straining resources, warning of irreparable damage to future generations of children unless immediate action is taken.As the humanitarian situation continues to unfold, the international community is urged to respond with the necessary urgency to avert a catastrophe on the ground.
