Struggling Food Supplies in Sudanese City: Suggestions for Providing Relief
In the heart of Sudan, the city of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, has been under siege for over a year. This prolonged blockade, imposed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has led to a dire humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped and facing acute malnutrition, particularly children.
The ongoing civil war in Sudan, which began in early 2023 between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), has shown no signs of abating. Since April 2024, the RSF has besieged El Fasher, surrounding the city and blocking all roads for humanitarian aid. This blockade has resulted in severe shortages, causing water supplies to be cut off at one point, and preventing aid deliveries.
The World Food Program has not been able to deliver food assistance to El Fasher by road for over a year due to the blocked roads. Diseases like cholera and measles are spreading in nearby towns like Tawila, due to the influx of displaced people. Approximately 400,000 displaced people have fled to Tawila since April 2024.
The RSF has been accused of attacking two camps near El Fasher sheltering over 500,000 displaced people in April 2024. Locals report that the RSF aims to starve out SAF-allied forces in El Fasher. Some forces inside the city are preventing civilians from leaving, using them as a protective buffer.
Enaam Mohammed, a Sudanese woman who fled El Fasher, reported that the RSF asked about weapons, men, mobile phones, money, and strong donkeys upon leaving the city. Many residents in El Fasher are resorting to eating hay or animal fodder due to food scarcity and high prices.
The UN regularly calls the situation in Sudan the world's largest humanitarian crisis. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a weeklong ceasefire to allow aid into El Fasher, but the RSF has yet to consent. The US postponed a meeting that would have brought together Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt to discuss Sudan, which is now rumored to be rescheduled for September.
The RSF set up their own civilian government in Sudan earlier in July, effectively splitting the country in two. Around 12 million people of Sudan's 46-million-strong population have been displaced by the conflict, and around 150,000 people have died as a result. Approximately 300,000 people trapped in El Fasher face starvation, according to the United Nations.
Mohammed also reported witnessing the RSF killing people and raping women. El Fasher remains the only urban center in the Darfur region not controlled by the RSF. If the RSF wins here, they would control almost all of western Sudan. The international community continues to call for a peaceful resolution to end the suffering of the Sudanese people.
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