UN warns of starvation in besieged Sudanese city of El-Fasher

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a dire warning that families trapped inside the besieged Sudanese city of El-Fasher are now facing the threat of starvation, as the war-torn region descends deeper into crisis.

According to the WFP, no food deliveries have been possible by road to El-Fasher — the capital of North Darfur — for over a year.

The city, home to an estimated 250,000 people, has been encircled for nearly 16 months by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who are attempting to wrest control from Sudan’s regular army.

“The situation in El-Fasher is catastrophic,” the WFP said in a statement.

“Without urgent humanitarian access, more lives will be lost to hunger and malnutrition.”

Local activists have already begun reporting deaths due to starvation, underscoring the mounting toll of Sudan’s civil war, which erupted in April 2023.

The conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army has devastated the country’s infrastructure, displaced millions, and triggered what the UN describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

El-Fasher is the last major urban center in Darfur still under army control. Its fall could have catastrophic consequences, both strategically and for the civilians trapped inside.

The WFP and other aid agencies are calling for an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to prevent further loss of life in the besieged city.