Severe hunger is gripping Sudan’s North Darfur capital, El-Fasher, where hundreds of thousands remain trapped under a blockade that has cut off food and humanitarian supplies for more than a year.
Local and international monitors say the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have surrounded the city since April 2024, closing routes in and out after local armed factions aligned themselves with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The siege has driven food prices to more than four times the national average, with markets running empty and communal kitchens shutting down.
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies estimates that about 740,000 people are facing extreme hunger in El-Fasher and surrounding camps. Many residents, including long-term displaced families from earlier conflicts, have resorted to grinding animal fodder into a paste to survive. Children are among the most at risk, with hundreds reported dead from malnutrition this year.
Attempts to escape carry grave danger. While some have fled to Tawila, 40km away, where aid is sporadically available, others have been killed or detained by RSF forces. Tawila itself is battling a cholera outbreak, worsening the humanitarian crisis.
Human rights groups warn that the situation could deteriorate rapidly unless aid agencies are granted safe access. The World Food Programme has repeatedly called for humanitarian corridors, stressing that thousands face imminent starvation if relief trucks are not allowed through.