GENEVA – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply concerned as escalating, brutal violence in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur region, has forced thousands of civilians to flee, leaving many others trapped inside the city with few options.
Reports indicate that the Rapid Support Forces have moved into the city, triggering widespread fear among families who have survived 500 days of relentless siege and conflict.
An estimated 26,000 people have fled El Fasher in recent days. Civilians escaped the fighting in terror, navigating armed checkpoints, extortion, arbitrary arrests, detention, looting and harassment, and serious human rights violations as they tried to reach safety. Testimonies from those arriving in the town of Tawila, 50 kilometres from El Fasher, suggest that what was already an alarming humanitarian and protection crisis is spiralling rapidly.
Additional displacement has been reported across North Darfur, with more expected to flee in the coming days and weeks, including across the border to Chad, where UNHCR and partners are ready to assist new arrivals.
Among the grave protection violations being reported is widespread sexual violence against women and girls by armed groups during attacks and in flight, along with reports of harrowing executions in El Fasher. We are acutely concerned about the plight of other vulnerable groups, including those with disabilities. UNHCR strongly urges all parties to refrain from violence and especially attacks on civilians along displacement routes. Civilians should never be targeted, and their safe passage must be guaranteed.
We call for safe, unhindered and immediate access for humanitarian actors to reach people in urgent need. Compliance with international humanitarian law is an obligation, not an option.
In Tawila, UNHCR and partners report families, and especially children, arriving malnourished, sick and traumatized from the perilous journey to safety. We are providing life-saving assistance and essential services to displaced families, including shelter, basic necessities and cash assistance, and offering counselling at multi-purpose community centres. UNHCR is also undertaking individual protection assessments for some of the most vulnerable new arrivals. Thousands of kits of household items in Nyala, South Darfur, are ready for distribution, pending safe access. UNHCR also plans to deliver post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits and other essential items from Farchana, Chad, to Tawila and Dar Zagawa to respond to fast-rising needs.
With communications severely disrupted, it has been difficult to obtain updates from civilians still in El Fasher. The current insecurity continues to block access, preventing the delivery of life-saving assistance to those trapped in the city without food, water and medical care.
In North Kordofan, similar patterns of violence and human rights violations have been reported by survivors, following the recent fall of the town of Bara, resulting in further displacement of thousands within the state. We are concerned about a possible siege of the town of El Obeid, hosting tens of thousands of internally displaced Sudanese, which would further exacerbate humanitarian needs in the region.
With other UN agencies and partners, UNHCR continues efforts to deliver life-saving support to those in critical need in El Fasher, Darfur and throughout Sudan, despite the insecurity and bureaucratic impediments. All of our partners face an acute funding shortfall. The 2025 humanitarian appeal for Sudan, the world’s largest displacement crisis, is only 27 per cent funded, while the needs continue to intensify.
For more information, please contact:
- In Sudan, Assadullah Nasrullah, [email protected], +254 113 676 413
- In Nairobi (regional), Dana Hughes, [email protected], +254 717 540 160
- In Geneva, Eujin Byun, [email protected], +41 79 747 8719