The Sudan Al-Fashir siege has turned into a humanitarian disaster, with relentless shelling, food shortages, and disease outbreaks worsening each day. Al-Fashir, the last major army-controlled city in Darfur, faces constant artillery and drone attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The siege threatens to tip the civil war further into chaos.
Civilians in Al-Fashir endure daily bombardments, electricity blackouts, and scarce medical supplies. “The number of people dying increases every day, and the cemeteries keep expanding,” one resident said. With bakeries closed and aid blocked, food prices have skyrocketed. Most displaced people now live in makeshift shelters, forced to survive on animal feed like ambaz.
The RSF’s attacks intensified after the Sudanese army pushed them westward earlier this year. If the city falls, RSF could control nearly all of Darfur, raising fears of Sudan’s de facto partition. Yet leaving Al-Fashir offers no escape. Residents fleeing toward Tawila face attacks by RSF fighters who steal belongings, kill civilians, and abduct girls.
One teenage survivor described the ordeal: “If they find your phone, they take it. Money, they take it. A donkey or anything, they’ll take it. They killed people in front of us and kidnapped girls.” On July 30, at least 14 people fleeing were reportedly killed in a village attack. Many who reached Tawila—about 60 km away—are still in danger.
Over half a million displaced people now reside in Tawila, most arriving since April. Yet the town offers little relief. Aid organizations, strained by funding cuts, provide minimal grain rations like sorghum and rice. Clean water and latrines are scarce. Only 10% of residents have reliable access to water, and most eat one meal a day—or less.
The rainy season has brought new threats. Flash floods, poor sanitation, and overcrowding have triggered a deadly cholera outbreak. Médecins Sans Frontières has treated 2,500 cases, and 52 people have died. Vaccines remain delayed due to impassable roads. Children sleep in roofless shelters, and mothers try to boil food when they can.
Despite the urgent crisis, the RSF rejected a United Nations call for a humanitarian ceasefire last month. The group’s siege tactics, combined with the region’s worsening rains, continue to block relief efforts.
Sudan’s civil war, now in its third year, has escalated across Darfur and Kordofan. With mediation stalled, both sides race to claim territory while civilians bear the brunt. The international community has yet to intervene meaningfully, leaving Al-Fashir’s population trapped between bombs, hunger, and disease.
