Sudan Conflict: Civilians in Al-Fashir Trapped Under Siege, Famine, and Violence

AL-FASHIR/AL-DABBA: As Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) tighten their siege on al-Fashir, civilians describe a city ravaged by relentless shelling, food shortages, and perilous escape routes where those fleeing risk violence, robbery, and extortion at checkpoints. Many have been forced to survive on animal feed.

A United Nations fact-finding mission last week concluded that the RSF had committed crimes against humanity in al-Fashir, the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in Darfur. The city, capital of North Darfur state, has become a flashpoint as the RSF seeks to entrench control over the region, establishing a parallel government whose ministers were sworn in last month.

“Living it is far worse than hearing about it,” said Dar al-Salam Hamed, who fled with her family after enduring searches and robbery by RSF soldiers. “We truly wish to never meet these people ever again,” she told Reuters from a displacement camp in al-Dabba, under army control.

According to U.N. estimates, nearly half a million people have fled al-Fashir since fighting erupted there in May 2024, while 270,000 remain trapped. Food prices have skyrocketed—millet, a staple grain, costs over $35 a bowl, sugar has reached nearly $20 a pound, and even animal feed (ambaz), now a substitute for food, has become scarce.

‘Mass Deaths’ and Starvation Tactics
Civilians who escaped describe catastrophic conditions. “There’s shelling 24 hours a day from all directions,” said Ahmed Haj Ali, who left last week. He recounted hospitals overflowing with casualties but lacking even gauze to stop bleeding.

The army, supported by allied Joint Forces composed largely of non-Arab tribes, continues to hold the city. While the RSF advanced close to the army headquarters last week, drone strikes have since pushed them back. The ethnically charged nature of the conflict has fueled atrocities, including attacks during the capture of the Zamzam displacement camp in April.

The RSF has expanded earthen barriers encircling al-Fashir, making escape harder and limiting food supply routes to smugglers carrying goods on foot. The U.N. fact-finding mission reported that the RSF had “intentionally used starvation as a method of warfare,” actions that may amount to extermination. U.N. Women separately condemned the systematic use of rape and sexual violence in North Darfur.

“Pregnant women are giving birth into the hands of unskilled attendants with no access to emergency obstetric care,” the agency noted.

Escape at a Price
For those attempting to flee, the costs are staggering. Ali said he paid 5 million Sudanese pounds (about $1,600) to escape, a sum far beyond the reach of most. “That’s why people are forced to stay there,” he said. “We left them behind.”

Meanwhile, the Sudanese army has launched a new offensive in neighboring North Kordofan state, aiming to break the RSF siege not only on al-Fashir but also on al-Dalanj and Kadugli further south.

With the war entering its third year, Sudan now faces what the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis—marked by famine, forced displacement, and atrocities that continue largely unchecked.