In brief
The ongoing conflict in Sudan has left the besieged city of El-Fasher in a horrific situation, with residents facing severe food shortages and the World Food Programme calling for urgent aid.
The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a stark warning about the dire situation faced by families in the besieged city of El-Fasher, Sudan, where starvation lurks on the horizon. The WFP stated that it has been unable to deliver food supplies to the city, located in the western Darfur region, for over a year amidst ongoing conflict. El-Fasher has been under siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for nearly 16 months, as they attempt to seize control from the Sudanese army. Local activists report that the dire conditions have led to deaths from starvation among the approximately 250,000 residents. The civil war that ignited in April 2023 has plunged Sudan into what the UN describes as the worst humanitarian crisis globally.The WFP has highlighted the alarming spike in food prices due to severe shortages, resulting in desperate measures where individuals resort to consuming animal feed and waste as sustenance. Eric Perdison, regional director of the WFP for Eastern and Southern Africa, expressed deep concern, stating, “Everyone in el-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive. People's coping mechanisms have been completely exhausted by over two years of war. Without immediate and sustained access, lives will be lost.”Survivors like eight-year-old Sondos, who fled El-Fasher with family members, recounted the horrors experienced: “In el-Fasher there was a lot of shelling and hunger. Only hunger and bombs.” The WFP has food and nutritional assistance ready but requires guarantees of safe passage to deliver aid. An earlier convoy attempt in June ended with violence between the army and the RSF, raising significant concerns about future aid efforts.Despite repeated calls from the UN for a humanitarian truce, uncertainty looms over how both parties would respond to additional attempts to break the siege. The implications of Sudan’s civil war extend beyond immediate starvation, prompting grave allegations of genocide in Darfur, with over 150,000 reported dead since the conflict's onset. Around 12 million people have been displaced, underscoring the urgent need for international support and intervention as the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.
