United Nations (UN) experts are warning that the collapse of protection since the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the city has sharply increased risks for women and children.
El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, fell to the RSF on October 26 after an 18-month siege that cut off civilians from food, medicine and critical supplies. The city had been the Sudanese Armed Forces’ last major stronghold in Darfur. UN agencies report that conditions across North Darfur and neighbouring Kordofan are worsening, while families continue to flee in multiple directions.
According to the UN World Food Programme, displaced families from El Fasher are now scattered across five surrounding locations, including Tawila, while others have travelled further to Dabbah in Northern State and even to Khartoum. Around 1 485 metric tons of food and nutrition supplies, enough to support about 130 000 people, are currently being moved through the Dabbah Crossing to reach Tawila, adding to assistance already delivered to those displaced earlier in the year.
Renewed fighting in the Kordofan region is also driving up displacement. The International Organisation for Migration reported that more than 1 800 people were displaced in South Kordofan on Tuesday alone, and nearly 40 000 people have been uprooted in North Kordofan between October 25 and November 18.
Independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council issued a stark warning on Thursday, citing alarming reports of human trafficking, sexual exploitation and the recruitment of children as fighters since the RSF took control of El Fasher. They noted incidents of rape and sexual abuse near RSF checkpoints and at sites sheltering displaced people, including the reported gang-rape of 25 women near El Fasher University.
Since the siege began in May 2024, more than 470 000 people have been displaced multiple times from camps such as Shagra, Zamzam and Abu Shouk. Nationwide, nearly 12 million people, half of them children, are now forcibly displaced or have fled to neighbouring countries, with sexual violence reported widely across conflict zones.
The experts urged all parties to halt violations against civilians and called on Member States to take urgent action following the Human Rights Council’s special session on El Fasher. Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, is preparing to travel to Port Sudan and Addis Ababa next week to push for renewed political dialogue focused on civilian protection and humanitarian access.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
