Khartoum: The humanitarian situation in Sudan’s war-torn city of Al-Fashir has reached breaking point as civilians cower under relentless drone strikes and shelling, trapped by an 18-month siege that has cut off food and medical supplies.
Once a bustling capital of North Darfur, Al-Fashir has now become a city of fear and starvation. Residents say they spend days hiding in underground shelters, emerging only to search for scarce water and food. Drones hover constantly over the city, while artillery fire pounds residential areas, mosques, and displacement camps.
The siege, imposed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has isolated an estimated 250,000 civilians who remain inside Al-Fashir. The RSF denies civilians are present, claiming only military targets remain, while both the RSF and Sudanese Army have been accused of indiscriminate attacks.
Food has become nearly impossible to find. Many families are now eating animal feed and wild plants to survive.
Aid groups warn that children and pregnant women are the most affected, with severe malnutrition spreading rapidly. Hospitals have been destroyed or abandoned, and dead bodies lie uncollected in the streets, raising fears of disease outbreaks.
Recent reports from humanitarian observers describe Al-Fashir as “uninhabitable.” More than 90 percent of homes have been damaged or looted, and the city’s once-lively markets stand empty. A drone attack earlier this month on a displacement camp killed at least 60 people, underscoring the rising civilian toll.
The international community, led by the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, has been working on an agreement to allow aid convoys into the besieged city.
Although a deal has reportedly been reached, it remains unclear whether relief trucks have been able to enter safely.
For now, Al-Fashir’s people continue to endure the siege, facing what one resident called “death from every side hunger, bullets, or bombs.” The world watches anxiously as Sudan’s war shows no sign of ending, and the suffering of those trapped in Darfur deepens with each passing day.