UN Warns of Starvation Risk for Thousands in Sudan’s Besieged El-Fasher

El-Fasher, Sudan – The United Nations has issued a dire warning that thousands of families trapped in el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, face starvation as the city remains under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) amid Sudan’s ongoing civil war. The conflict, now in its third year, has left the city cut off from essential supplies, exacerbating what the UN describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.

Since May 2024, the RSF has encircled el-Fasher, blocking major roads and severely limiting humanitarian access. The city, the last major stronghold of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Darfur, is home to hundreds of thousands of civilians struggling with dwindling food supplies. The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that prices for staple foods like sorghum and wheat have surged by up to 460 percent compared to other parts of Sudan. Markets and clinics have been attacked, and community kitchens that once supported displaced families have largely shut down due to supply shortages.

“Everyone in el-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive,” said Eric Perdison, WFP’s regional director for East and Southern Africa. “People’s coping mechanisms have been exhausted after over two years of war. Without immediate and sustained access, lives will be lost.” The situation is particularly dire for children, with nearly 40 percent of those under five in el-Fasher suffering from acute malnutrition and 11 percent facing severe acute malnutrition, according to the UN. Desperate families are reportedly resorting to eating animal fodder and food waste to survive. The ongoing rainy season, peaking in August, has further hampered aid efforts by rendering roads impassable. The war between the RSF and SAF, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and deepened Sudan’s humanitarian crisis. Famine was declared in the Zamzam displacement camp near el-Fasher last year, later spreading to the al-Salam and Abu Shouk camps and parts of southern Sudan. A recent RSF assault on Zamzam in April forced hundreds of thousands to flee, with many seeking refuge in el-Fasher. Compounding the crisis, a cholera outbreak in North Darfur has claimed at least 191 lives, including 62 in Tawila and nearly 100 in the Kalma and Otash displacement camps in South Darfur, according to Adam Rijal, a spokesman for the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur. About 4,000 cholera cases have been reported in the region. UN agencies, already grappling with severe funding cuts, are struggling to respond. Only 23 percent of the $4.16 billion global humanitarian response plan for Sudan has been funded, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “It has been one year since famine was confirmed in Zamzam camp, and no food has reached this area,” said OCHA’s Jens Laerke. “El-Fasher remains under siege. We need access now.” UNICEF warned that funding shortages are pushing an entire generation of Sudanese children toward “irreversible harm.” “Children have limited access to safe water, food, and healthcare. Malnutrition is rife, and many children are reduced to skin and bones,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF’s representative in Sudan, speaking from Port Sudan. “We are being stretched to the limit, with children dying of hunger.” The conflict has also deepened political divisions. Last month, an RSF-led coalition announced plans for an alternative government, challenging the military-led authorities in Khartoum. This move risks further complicating the crisis and creating competing institutions as Sudan remains split, with the SAF controlling the north, east, and center, and the RSF dominating Darfur and parts of the south.

As the humanitarian situation deteriorates, the international community faces growing pressure to address the escalating crisis in Sudan.