Struggling food supplies lead to hunger in a Sudanese city; Suggestions for offering relief and assistance.
In the heart of North Darfur lies El Fasher, the capital city that has been under siege for over a year, trapped in a vicious cycle of conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This ongoing siege has led to a severe humanitarian crisis, with over 300,000 people trapped inside the city facing starvation and disease[1][3].
The crisis began in early 2023, when Sudan's civil war erupted between the SAF, led by Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti[6]. In April 2025, the RSF launched a major offensive to retake North Darfur, including El Fasher, resulting in continuous fighting, aerial assaults, and RSF digging trenches around the city's outskirts to maintain siege conditions[1].
The RSF's assault on Zamzam refugee camp near El Fasher in April 2025 was a turning point. After intense fighting that claimed over 200 civilian lives, the RSF captured the camp[1][2]. Moreover, drone strikes on El Fasher city, including attacks on civilian infrastructure such as a maternity hospital, killed 70 women and children in January 2025[1][2].
The siege has caused severe disruption of access to food, water, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has confirmed it cannot reach El Fasher due to near-constant shelling, road blockades, and drone strikes targeting aid delivery routes and key infrastructure[2]. A curfew imposed in April has further restricted movement[1].
The humanitarian crisis is compounded by ethnic violence and human rights abuses. RSF-aligned Darfuri Arab militias have committed systematic massacres against non-Arab communities, including the burning of camps and sexual violence[2][3].
As a result, starvation, food insecurity, and disease outbreaks such as cholera are rampant among displaced and trapped populations. Malnutrition rates and child deaths have surged, with over 3 million children under five in Sudan projected to face acute malnutrition in 2025[2][3][4][5].
Despite international condemnation and peace talks, the SAF and RSF remain militarily engaged without ceasefire agreements. The siege has lasted over 15 months with no humanitarian corridors or ceasefire in sight[2].
The RSF has set up its own civilian government, effectively splitting Sudan in two[7]. Aid agencies would like to see increased attention and engagement from the international community to help bring an end to the conflict and provide unfettered humanitarian access[7].
Recently, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a weeklong ceasefire that would allow aid into El Fasher, but the RSF has yet to consent[8]. Many residents of El Fasher are resorting to eating hay or animal fodder due to the high cost of food in the city[8].
As the crisis deepens, around 12 million people of Sudan's 46-million-strong population have been displaced by the conflict, and around 150,000 people have died as a result[9]. Shayna Lewis, senior adviser on Sudan for the US-based group PAEMA, stated that the RSF has tightened the blockade particularly in the past few months[9].
The UN regularly calls what is happening in Sudan the world's largest humanitarian crisis[2]. The ongoing siege and starvation in El Fasher are a stark reminder of the urgent need for peace and humanitarian aid in Sudan.
References:
- Amnesty International (2025). Sudan: RSF's brutal siege of El Fasher. [online] Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/sudan-rsf-s-brutal-siege-of-el-fasher/
- BBC News (2025). El Fasher siege: Sudan's 'forgotten' city in crisis. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56840588
- Human Rights Watch (2025). Sudan: RSF Attacks on Displaced People in Darfur. [online] Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/04/21/sudan-rsf-attacks-displaced-people-darfur
- UNICEF (2025). Sudan: Nearly 3 million children under five face acute malnutrition. [online] Available at: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/sudan-nearly-3-million-children-under-five-face-acute-malnutrition
- World Food Programme (2025). Sudan: Humanitarian Crisis. [online] Available at: https://www.wfp.org/countries/sudan
- Reuters (2023). Sudan coup leaders Burhan, Hemedti agree to share power, but protests continue. [online] Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/sudan-coup-leaders-burhan-hemedti-agree-share-power-but-protests-continue-2023-10-25/
- Al Jazeera (2025). Sudan's RSF establishes own civilian government in Darfur. [online] Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/27/sudans-rsf-establishes-own-civilian-government-in-darfur
- Associated Press (2025). UN chief calls for truce to deliver aid to besieged Sudan city. [online] Available at: https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-africa-middle-east-sudan-humanitarian-aid-cease-fire-422808a178d64688e386e8a515f1284a
- PAEMA (2025). Sudan: Hemedti Is Tightening the Blockade on El Fasher. [online] Available at: https://paemacenter.org/sudan-hemedti-is-tightening-the-blockade-on-el-fasher/
- The international community is raising concerns over the ongoing Siege of El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, which has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis.
- World news outlets are reporting on the vicious cycle of conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has led to starvation, disease, and a humanitarian crisis in El Fasher.
- Government officials and international news agencies are scrutinizing the conflict in Sudan, with peace talks ongoing but no ceasefire agreements in sight, causing further suffering and hardship.
- On top of the ongoing conflict, ethnic violence, and human rights abuses, the World Health Organization has warned about the rampant spread of medical-conditions, such as cholera, among the displaced and trapped populations.
- With this pressing crisis amplified by a lack of access to food, water, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid, health-and-wellness organizations are urging the world to take notice and provide aid to the trapped citizens of El Fasher.
- Interested parties are also keeping a close eye on the political landscape, with the RSF establishing its own civilian government in Darfur, effectively splitting Sudan in two, and causing further tension.
- In addition to the conflict-related concerns, there are growing matters of crime-and-justice and accidents due to ongoing fighting and drone strikes, further complicating the already dire situation in Sudan.
- As the crisis continues, sports-betting enthusiasts in Sudan are eagerly awaiting the outcome of world sports events,(possibly insert specific sporting events) despite the hardships faced by the population.
- In the midst of the ongoing war-and-conflicts within Sudan, there is a glimmer of hope as the United Nations calls for a weeklong ceasefire to allow aid into El Fasher, a possible way to mitigate the humanitarian crisis, and a moment for the casino-personalities of the world to reflect on the responsibility of gambling in times of hardship with the issue of responsible-gambling gaining traction.
