The World Food Programme highlights severe food shortages and rising mortality rates due to starvation in El-Fasher, where residents are desperately seeking survival amidst ongoing violence.
Desperate Struggles in El-Fasher: UN Warns of Impending Starvation
Desperate Struggles in El-Fasher: UN Warns of Impending Starvation
Families trapped in Sudan’s besieged city are facing life-threatening hunger as the humanitarian crisis escalates.
The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a grave warning regarding the dire humanitarian situation in the besieged Sudanese city of El-Fasher, stating that families are on the brink of starvation. For over a year, the WFP has faced obstacles in delivering essential food supplies to this western Darfur city, which has been surrounded by paramilitary fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for nearly 16 months, creating a blockade against the Sudanese army.
Local activists have reported increasing fatalities from hunger in a city housing approximately 250,000 residents. The ongoing civil war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023, has led to what the UN describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. According to the WFP, severe food shortages have caused prices for remaining provisions to skyrocket, with reports of individuals resorting to eating animal fodder and food waste to survive.
Eric Perdison, WFP's regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, emphasized the urgent need for immediate and sustained access to El-Fasher, warning that lives are at stake. He stated, “Everyone in el-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive,” noting that coping mechanisms have been depleted after over two years of conflict.
One poignant account features an eight-year-old girl named Sondos, who fled El-Fasher with five family members. She recounted, “In El-Fasher there was a lot of shelling and hunger. Only hunger and bombs,” revealing that her family has been consuming only millet. The WFP reported having trucks filled with food and nutritional assistance ready to dispatch, contingent on receiving safety guarantees for the convoy. A prior attempt in June to deliver aid failed when the convoy was attacked, leading to mutual blame between the army and the RSF.
In response to the escalating crisis, the WFP and UN are advocating for a week-long humanitarian truce in El-Fasher. However, the commitment from either side for another potential aid convoy remains uncertain. The ongoing conflict has left over 150,000 people dead and displaced around 12 million across Sudan since 2023, with increasing concerns over widespread famine and genocide allegations in Darfur.
Local activists have reported increasing fatalities from hunger in a city housing approximately 250,000 residents. The ongoing civil war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023, has led to what the UN describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. According to the WFP, severe food shortages have caused prices for remaining provisions to skyrocket, with reports of individuals resorting to eating animal fodder and food waste to survive.
Eric Perdison, WFP's regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, emphasized the urgent need for immediate and sustained access to El-Fasher, warning that lives are at stake. He stated, “Everyone in el-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive,” noting that coping mechanisms have been depleted after over two years of conflict.
One poignant account features an eight-year-old girl named Sondos, who fled El-Fasher with five family members. She recounted, “In El-Fasher there was a lot of shelling and hunger. Only hunger and bombs,” revealing that her family has been consuming only millet. The WFP reported having trucks filled with food and nutritional assistance ready to dispatch, contingent on receiving safety guarantees for the convoy. A prior attempt in June to deliver aid failed when the convoy was attacked, leading to mutual blame between the army and the RSF.
In response to the escalating crisis, the WFP and UN are advocating for a week-long humanitarian truce in El-Fasher. However, the commitment from either side for another potential aid convoy remains uncertain. The ongoing conflict has left over 150,000 people dead and displaced around 12 million across Sudan since 2023, with increasing concerns over widespread famine and genocide allegations in Darfur.
