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[Paris, October 31, 2025] The capture of El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces has plunged western Sudan into chaos. Several thousand displaced people have moved to Tawila, but humanitarian aid is struggling to reach those who are most isolated. SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is sounding the alarm on the urgent need to ensure safe and sufficient humanitarian access.
Since the capture of El Fasher by paramilitaries from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Sunday October 26, nearly 5,000 people have travelled, on foot or by truck, to the small town of Tawila in western Sudan.
“We expected to see many more people arriving, given that there are supposed to be 250,000 people in El Fasher, which is very worrying. It means that people are still trapped in the besieged city, or are encountering difficulties on the road. We are worried that people are dying of hunger or thirst”, says Caroline Bouvard, country director in Sudan for the NGO SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL.
With over half a million displaced people arriving in the last six months, the town of Tawila is saturated. The capacity of the city to host them all is a real challenge: “The civilians arriving in Tawila are mainly women and children. The few men who are not part of the Sudanese Armed Forces are mostly sick, injured or elderly. They are all extremely malnourished, dehydrated, and clearly traumatized”, explains Caroline Bouvard.
SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is redoubling its efforts to provide drinking water, food and shelter to the new arrivals. However, its capacity to act is limited. NGOs are only able to care about 20% of the displaced population’s drinking water needs in Tawila. “Unfortunately, not all international aid can reach this area because the United Nations does not have all the necessary authorizations to set up their operations”, laments the country director for Sudan. In 2025, only 27% of essential humanitarian needs are funded to address the ongoing crisis in Sudan¹.
The insecurity prevailing in North Darfur also affects humanitarian access to the population. Bombardments are hitting civilians and infrastructures, resulting in the destruction of a maternity hospital and our offices in El Fasher, these recent days. Since the offensive against the last stronghold of the Sudanese armed forces, several thousand people have been killed, while hundreds of thousands of residents who have stayed in El Fasher are suffering extreme violence, hunger and a lack of medical care².
“The core issue is this: children are still dying of hunger in 2025, it’s unthinkable. We call for the unhindered entry of sufficient humanitarian aid to alleviate civilian suffering and demand safe humanitarian access to those trapped in the conflict”, alerts Justine Muzik Piquemal, regional director for the NGO SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL. With more than 30 million people in need (more than half the population) and 13 million displaced, Sudan is considered as the largest humanitarian crisis in the world³.
¹ Financials | Sudan | Humanitarian Action
² Au Soudan, les paramilitaires contrôlent le Darfour après la « prise » d’El-Fasher
³ Soudan : la plus grande crise humanitaire au monde | ONU Info
Spokespersons available:
- Justine Muzik Piquemal, Regional Director for the Soudan (based in France)
- Caroline Bouvard, Country Director in Soudan (based in-country)
Press Contact
Claire MORAND / +33 (0)7 85 42 56 99
cmorand@solidarites.org Or presse@solidarites.org
Website: solidarites.org/en/
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