Fall of El-Fasher: the endless ordeal of Sudanese civilians

The Sudanese population is paying a heavy price for the capture of El-Fasher on October 27. After eighteen months of siege, without access to humanitarian aid, tens of thousands of civilians are now running away from the city and looking for shelter in nearby towns.   

Last Monday, the city of El-Fasher in North Darfur fell into the hands of the paramilitaries from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after a siege of more than 18 months. This marks a feared escalation of violence in a deadly conflict that has been raging for more than two years. The remaining population of El-Fasher, estimated at 250,000 people, is escaping the fighting. These are perilous journeys, and people who are already weakened are forced to travel along roads exposed to looting and abuse.   

A perilous escape  

“We are receiving people who are injured, traumatised and dehydrated. It is clear that they have not had anything to eat for a long time”, warns Caroline Bouvard, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s country director in Sudan, who is currently in Tawila, a town located about 60 kilometres west of El-Fasher. On the road, women, children and elderly people travel by truck if they have a little money left, or on foot if not. There are also lone men, former regular army soldiers who have come to disarm. In total, more than 7,000 people have arrived in Tawila from El-Fasher since last week. “That’s not many, compared to the estimated 250,000 people who are still there”, observes the country director.  

The communications blackout raises questions about the fate of residents who have been unable to leave the city. “We estimate that there are probably at least 10,000 to 15,000 people who have left and are now stuck in the villages between Tawila and El-Fasher, with no way of moving on”. This is a worrying situation because for these small communities, “it’s impossible; they don’t have the capacity to feed them or give them enough to drink”, continues Caroline Bouvard.  

Displaced people in need of everything  

In Tawila too, the needs are enormous. Until recently, this town had only a few tens of thousands of inhabitants. But the war has turned it into a huge camp for displaced persons, where humanitarian workers are busy providing aid to the 775,000 people who have found refuge there – a number that has more than tripled since April, when the Rapid Support Forces started gaining ground towards El-Fasher.  

As a result, temporary shelters now extend as far as can be seen. “The main camp is already six kilometres long, says Caroline Bouvard. The newcomers had to settle in temporary accommodation where they will stay until the end of the farming season, when plots of land should be cleared”. In the meantime, they have built straw huts from sorghum and millet stalks, which they cover with plastic sheeting distributed by organisations such as SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL. It is a precarious solution, but there is no alternative to find shelter.   

Lack of water access  

In such crowded conditions, satisfying everyone’s needs is impossible. Access to water and sanitation is particularly critical. “Before the new wave of displacement, less than 20% of drinking water needs were covered in Tawila”, says Caroline Bouvard. Due to the insufficient number of wells and tanker trucks to transport water, “people do what they can, using unsafe wells or buying water from vendors that is not always clean”, she explains.  

A fertile ground for epidemics, such as cholera, which has affected more than 7,500 people in Tawila since June. To deal with the expansion of the camp, water tanks and emergency latrines are being installed, and our teams are preparing for a possible resurgence of cholera cases.   

Lack of resources  

Although regularly described by the United Nations as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”, the crisis in Sudan suffers from a lack of funding and interest from donors and the international community. A significant figure: in 2025, only 25% of the funds required to cover humanitarian needs in the country were provided¹.   

Despite these limited resources, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL teams in Darfur are doing everything they can to reach El-Fasher and civilians who are still trapped in the fighting and have been deprived of humanitarian aid for many months. Without increased international pressure to allow access and delivery of humanitarian aid, the Sudanese people will continue to pay a heavy price for the war.   

Sources :
¹ News UN 

Photo : © SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL