UN warns of Imminent Starvation for Civilians in El-Fasher, Sudan

As El-Fasher remains encircled by paramilitary forces, the UN reports severe food shortages leading to starvation among the city's population. Over 250,000 residents are affected, facing the worst humanitarian crisis due to Sudan's ongoing civil war.

Residents of El-Fasher, a city in Sudan besieged for nearly 16 months, are on the brink of starvation according to alarming warnings from the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP). The agency reported that it has been unable to deliver food supplies to the city located in western Darfur for over a year, exacerbating the dire circumstances faced by approximately 250,000 trapped citizens.

Amid a civil war that erupted in April 2023, El-Fasher has been surrounded by paramilitary fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who are vying to take control from Sudan's army. Reports from local activists indicate that some residents have already succumbed to starvation, prompting the WFP to issue a grave warning about the severe food shortages leading to skyrocketing prices and desperate measures among the populace.

Eric Perdison, the WFP's regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, described the overwhelming pressures faced by families in El-Fasher, noting that their coping mechanisms have been completely depleted after years of conflict. “Without immediate and sustained access, lives will be lost,” he stated. The WFP documented the plight of an eight-year-old girl, Sondos, who fled the besieged city, highlighting the grim reality of unending shelling and hunger they endured.

The WFP has indicated that it stands ready to send food and nutritional assistance trucks if assured of safe passage. However, previous attempts to deliver aid have ended in violence, with both the army and the RSF blaming each other for an attack on a convoy in June. The UN continues to advocate for a humanitarian truce, even as the outcome remains uncertain for future aid efforts.

The conflict, which has already claimed the lives of over 150,000 individuals across Sudan and displaced approximately 12 million people, raises alarm of potential rates of genocide in the Darfur region, deepening the humanitarian crisis as hunger and warfare ravage the land.