UNITED NATIONS: Senior United Nations officials have issued grave warnings about the escalating violence in El-Fasher, Sudan, as hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk.
The town, located in Sudan’s Darfur region, has been under siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since May 2023, leaving it as the only state capital in Darfur not controlled by the RSF.
The war between the RSF and Sudan’s regular army, which began in April 2023, has caused massive displacement, creating the world’s largest displacement crisis and pushing millions into famine, including those near El-Fasher.
Martha Pobee, the UN’s Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, alerted the UN Security Council that civilians, especially in displacement camps around El-Fasher, are extremely vulnerable to the violence, with hospitals and healthcare facilities also being targeted.
The UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya, reported that more than 700,000 internally displaced people are in immediate danger. The conflict has already claimed tens of thousands of lives, with the death toll potentially reaching 150,000.
Msuya also expressed concern over worsening food insecurity, with nearly 1.7 million people facing starvation in north Darfur. The UN fears that violence will further intensify as Sudan’s rainy season ends, worsening the humanitarian crisis.
