Sudan War: Aid Teams Urge Access to Thousands in El Fasher

A child sits next to a stove in Tawila after his family fled El Fasher. They have faced “unimaginable horrors”, UN agencies report.

How many people remain trapped in the Sudanese city of El Fasher? That is the urgent question for relatives of the thousands believed to still be there, after paramilitary fighters overran the North Darfur regional capital last month, following a 500-day siege.

The ordeal forced residents to eat peanut shells and animal feed, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday, condemning the reported mass killings of civilians, executions based on ethnicity, and other ongoing atrocities.

At the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mr. Türk stated that bloodstains on the ground in El Fasher are visible from space.

“We warned that the fall of the city to the Rapid Support Forces would result in a bloodbath,” he said, calling for immediate international action. “All those involved in this conflict should know: we are watching you, and justice must prevail,” the High Commissioner insisted.

Stranded, Seeking Help

According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, nearly 100,000 people have fled El Fasher and nearby villages in the past two weeks.

“They are stranded somewhere,” said Jacqueline Wilma Parlevliet, Head of UNHCR’s Sub-Office in Port Sudan. Families arriving in Tawila, about 50 kilometres from El Fasher, reported “unimaginable horrors” before and after fleeing the city.

Briefing journalists in Geneva via video, Ms. Parlevliet highlighted widespread reports of rape, sexual violence, and other desperate situations.

“Parents are searching for missing children, many traumatized by the conflict and the dangerous journey to safety. Families unable to pay ransoms have lost young male relatives to arrests or forced recruitment into armed groups,” she explained.

Those attempting to find safety face dangerous journeys, avoiding military checkpoints and sometimes travelling for up to 15 days with limited food and water before reaching shelter in locations including Ad Dabbah in Northern State.

The small town on the Nile now houses at least 37,000 people from El Fasher, with thousands more expected. Reports also indicate that armed groups are forcibly returning many people to El Fasher, where conditions remain dire, UNHCR said, citing local sources.

“Thousands of people, especially the elderly, those with disabilities, and the wounded, remain trapped, either prevented from leaving the city or lacking the means or strength to flee,” Ms. Parlevliet told journalists.

A Crisis of Staggering Proportions

Sudan is facing the world’s largest displacement crisis, with over 12 million people uprooted inside and outside the country.

For those attempting to return home, unexploded weapons pose a major threat. The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) noted that in South Kordofan, West Kordofan, and Blue Nile States alone, 13 million square kilometres of land are contaminated.

“There are many other countries affected by explosive remnants of war, but Sudan is different because the war is mainly happening in urban areas,” said Sediq Rashid, Chief of UNMAS Sudan, from Port Sudan.

In Khartoum alone, risks include unexploded and abandoned ammunition, anti-vehicle mines, and anti-personnel mines. Displaced families are particularly vulnerable, often settling in unfamiliar areas “without any awareness of past conflicts or contamination,” Mr. Rashid said.

Meanwhile, civilian casualties from mines and other unexploded ordnance continue to rise. “We know that reported cases represent only a fraction of the true scale of harm,” he added.