Khartoum Highlight – Agencies- Thousands of families in El Fasher, western Sudan, face famine under a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) siege since May 2024. According to the World Food Programme, food prices have soared by up to 460 percent due to the ongoing blockade. As a result, communal kitchens and food warehouses have collapsed, leaving residents with little or no access to meals.
The United Nations reports that access to El Fasher is nearly impossible amid worsening humanitarian conditions inside the city. Consequently, many residents now rely on animal feed and other inedible items as their only source of food. While the UN has provided cash support to 250,000 people, it admits the assistance falls far short of growing needs. Graves Fill Fast as Hunger and Bombing Kill Civilians Amnesty International reports that cemeteries in El Fasher are expanding rapidly due to the rising number of deaths.
Many families can no longer bury their loved ones as casualties from hunger and shelling continue to grow. Moreover, the siege has prevented proper burials, forcing some to leave bodies unburied or in makeshift graves. El Fasher is now the only major city in Darfur still under Sudanese army control since the war began in April 2023. Fighting between the army and RSF erupted on April 25, 2023, triggering Sudan’s deadliest conflict in decades.
