UN Warns of Imminent Starvation in besieged Sudanese City

With escalating violence straining food supplies, the UN's World Food Programme warns that the people of el-Fasher, trapped by paramilitary forces, are on the brink of starvation, prompting urgent calls for humanitarian aid.

Residents in the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, surrounded by paramilitary forces from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), face mounting risks of starvation as the World Food Programme (WFP) issues a dire warning about their plight. For over a year, the WFP has been unable to deliver food supplies to the city in Darfur due to the ongoing civil war, triggered by a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the RSF that erupted in April 2023.

With approximately 300,000 people still residing in el-Fasher, local activists have reported fatalities due to starvation conditions, creating a humanitarian crisis that the UN describes as one of the world's worst. The situation is exacerbated by rampant malnutrition, especially among children, as UNICEF has reported alarming rates of severe malnutrition.

In light of this, North Darfur Governor Al-Hafiz Bakhit has called for urgent assistance, highlighting that the living conditions for residents in el-Fasher have become intolerable. The RSF's campaign to wrest control of the city from the Sudanese army has escalated, particularly after being ousted from Khartoum, further complicating the food delivery situation.

Escalating food shortages have resulted in skyrocketing prices for scarce resources within the city, with some residents resorting to consuming animal fodder and waste just to survive. According to WFP's regional director Eric Perdison, “Everyone in el-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive,” cautioning that without immediate access to aid, many lives are at risk.

The WFP has supplies ready for delivery and has received permission from the Sudanese government to proceed to el-Fasher, yet it awaits an agreement from the RSF to momentarily halt fighting to allow aid into the beleaguered city. The UN has sought a week-long humanitarian ceasefire since June, following an attack on a UN convoy en route to el-Fasher. While Sudan's armed forces chief, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has consented to a temporary truce, reports suggest that the RSF has dismissed the initiative.

The ongoing conflict has resulted in an exodus, with the International Organization for Migration reporting that over one million people have fled el-Fasher since the fighting began. Although there are signs of improvement in other regions of Sudan, resources remain stretched, leaving the most vulnerable populations at the brink of drastic humanitarian crisis.

UNICEF's Sudan representative Sheldon Yett has underscored the urgency of the situation, warning of irreversible damage to a generation of children unless immediate action is taken. "We are collectively failing to act with the urgency that this crisis demands," he emphasized.