A Sudanese medical organization has issued a stark warning about a deepening humanitarian crisis in the city of el-Fasher, where 23 people among them children and five pregnant women died of malnutrition in September alone. The Sudan Doctors Network described the situation as a “full-blown humanitarian disaster,” as ongoing clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue to devastate the Darfur region.
El-Fasher remains the military’s final stronghold in Darfur, now under siege by RSF fighters. According to the U.N. Human Rights Office, hundreds of civilians have been killed in RSF-led assaults since April. The Sudan Doctors Network condemned the siege as a “systematic crime,” accusing RSF of using famine as a weapon of war and depriving civilians of their right to life.
The group further asserted that the blockade amounts to war crimes under international law and criticized the global community including the United Nations for its “silence and failure to intervene despite the clear magnitude of the tragedy.” It warned that the city is on the brink of a “silent genocide,” threatening tens of thousands of women and children.
The conflict between Sudan’s military and RSF erupted in April 2023 and has since spiraled into a nationwide civil war. The U.N. estimates that at least 40,000 people have been killed and up to 12 million displaced. Meanwhile, the World Food Program reports that over 24 million Sudanese are facing acute food insecurity.
UNICEF highlighted the dire conditions in el-Fasher, noting that more than 10,000 children have received treatment for severe acute malnutrition since January twice the number from the previous year. In just one week, at least 63 people, mostly women and children, died from hunger-related causes. The siege has severed all supply routes, forcing health centers and mobile nutrition teams to halt operations and leaving an estimated 6,000 children without access to life-saving treatment.
