According to the council, repeated deaths are being recorded among children and the elderly due to severe malnutrition, while basic healthcare services have nearly collapsed. The crisis is further exacerbated by soaring malnutrition rates among both displaced people and host communities, underscoring the scale of the unfolding disaster.
“The situation has moved beyond warnings and entered the stage of full-scale humanitarian catastrophe,” the statement read. The council urged humanitarian organizations to act swiftly to prevent further loss of life. it emphasized the need to open secure humanitarian corridors to deliver emergency food and medical aid, calling for urgent coordination of relief efforts under a unified framework.
The council also held the international community morally and humanely responsible for protecting civilians and saving lives in El Fasher, warning that time is running out.
Compounding the crisis, the emergency committee in Abu Shouk camp, one of the largest displacement sites near El Fasher, reported a complete depletion of clean water supplies due to fuel shortages that forced wells to stop operating. The committee highlighted the dire economic conditions facing tens of thousands of civilians in both camp and the city itself.
According to the committee, the average death toll at Abu Shouk has now reached four people per week, most vulnerable individuals such as children, women, and the elderly. The ongoing lack of access to water and medical services has left large segments of the population in a state of desperation.
El Fasher has been under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since May 2024, as part of their military campaign to seize control of the strategic city. It remains the final stronghold of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the Darfur region. The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamadan Dagalo (Hemedti), currently controls four out five Darfur States.
The prolonged RSF blockade has created near-impossible conditions for the entry of humanitarian aid, while constant shelling and clashes continue to put civilians at grave risk. The United Nations and other humanitarian agencies have previously warned that a full assault on El Fasher would likely result in mass civilian casualties and a dramatic escalation in displacement.
Despite repeated appeals, access for humanitarian convoys remains severely restricted. Local civil society groups, including the North Darfur Emergency Coordination Council and the Abu Shouk Emergency Room, continue to advocate for an international response capable of breaking the siege and delivering life-saving assistance.
with food stocks dwindling, hospitals out of service, and safe water increasingly scare, aid groups and observers warn that El Fasher may soon famine-like conditions unless immediate and unhindered access is granted.
