Thousands of people remain trapped in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher, where ongoing battles between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have created a deadly environment for civilians. Those attempting to flee are facing grave dangers, with witnesses reporting that men and boys are often detained or executed, while women and children risk abduction along escape routes.
Residents describe El-Fasher as a city under siege since April 2024, when the RSF surrounded the capital of North Darfur and cut off vital supply routes. Food stocks are almost depleted, and families are struggling to survive on tree leaves and animal feed known locally as “ambaz.” Aid convoys rarely reach the city, and when they do, they are often attacked. Local volunteers are running community kitchens, but these efforts reach only a fraction of the population.
Satellite monitoring by humanitarian researchers has revealed that the RSF constructed miles of sand barriers around El-Fasher, leaving civilians with almost no path out. Analysts describe the blockade as a “kill zone,” trapping an estimated 260,000 residents inside. This tactic has intensified fears that the city may fall completely under RSF control.
Those who try to escape eastward toward Tawila, about 70 kilometers away, are forced to pay exorbitant sums of money to RSF fighters. In many cases, people must hand over their jewelry or possessions, and even then, men are at high risk of being executed on suspicion of being fighters. Women and children face abduction and violence during the journey. The road to Tawila is also dangerous because the town itself is battling a cholera outbreak while sheltering new arrivals.
Community leaders inside El-Fasher warn that starvation has reached catastrophic levels. Only a handful of community kitchens are still operating, each serving just a few thousand people per day. “We have reached famine,” said one resident who helps coordinate food distribution. Some families are now sending children and women out of the city in the hope they may survive, while young men stay behind to avoid execution.
The crisis echoes earlier atrocities across Darfur, where displacement camps such as Zamzam and Abu Shouk were attacked by RSF forces earlier this year. Hundreds of thousands were uprooted, and reports of mass killings and sexual violence have been documented by local monitors and international organizations. The United Nations has accused the RSF of carrying out summary executions and other abuses that may amount to war crimes.
For many families in El-Fasher, the choice is unbearable: remain under siege and risk starvation, or attempt an escape that could end in death. Residents say that if the RSF were not directly targeting civilians, most people would have already fled. Instead, thousands are trapped in fear, waiting for an uncertain outcome while the conflict rages on.