In a statement issued on Wednesday, UNICEF reported that at least 600,000 people, half of them children, have fled El Fasher and nearby displacement camps in recent months. Yet an estimated 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, remain stranded inside the city in what the agency described as “desperate” conditions.
“We are witnessing a devastating tragedy, children in El Fasher are starving while UNICEF’s life-saving nutrition services are being denied,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Denying humanitarian access is a grave violation of children’s rights, and children’s lives are on the line.”
According to the statement, more than 1,100 grave violations against children in El Fasher have verified since April 2024. These include the killing and maiming of over 1,000 children, at least 23 cases of rape or sexual assault, as well as reports of abductions and forced recruitment by armed groups.
Recent reports also confirmed the killing of seven children in an attack on Abu Shouk displacement camp on the outskirts of the city. UNICEF stressed that the siege imposed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has severed all supply routes, leaving hospitals and clinics unable to function after running out of medicine and essential equipment.
The statement highlighted a particularly alarming statistic: nearly 6,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition have been deprived of treatment due to the complete depletion of therapeutic food and medical supplies. “Without aid, children face a much higher risk of death,” UNICEF warned.
Healthcare and education facilities have also been battered by repeated shelling, with 35 hospital and six schools damaged, among them the Saudi Maternity and Children’s Hospital, which has been struck more than ten times.
The crisis is compounded by Sudan’s ongoing cholera epidemic. Since July 2024, more than 96,000 cases and 2,400 deaths have been recorded nationwide, including around 5,000 cases and 98 deaths in Darfur. UNICEF cautioned that “children weakened by hunger are more vulnerable to deadly waterborne diseases.”
Catherine Russell renewed UNICEF’s call for immediate humanitarian access, saying “UNICEF continues to call for immediate and unimpeded access, including through expanded humanitarian pauses that enable us to reach all children in need. Children must be protected at all time, and they must be able to receive life, saving assistance.”
The organization urged the swift establishment of a sustainable humanitarian ceasefire in El Fasher and other conflict-hit areas. It also called for safe, unhindered access for food, medicine, and clean water, as well as the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with international humanitarian law.
To respond to the cholera crisis, UNICEF said it requires an additional $30.6 million to expand its emergency response, covering health, water and sanitation, hygiene, and public awareness campaigns to curb the outbreak and prevent further loss of life.
Meanwhile, local accounts from El Fasher paint a bleak picture of life under siege. Residents have reportedly resorted to consuming “ambaz,” a livestock byproduct made from groundnut and sesame seed residues, as a primary food source amid severe shortages. Food prices have soared to unprecedented levels, with a single sack of sorghum now shelling for the equivalent of $3,700.
For families trapped inside El Fasher, the struggle to survive has become a daily battle. with no access to adequate food, medicine, or safe water, UNICEF’s warning underscores that the city’s children are paying the heaviest price of the war.
