Human rights reports revealed that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have built a network of more than 31 kilometers of earth berms around El Fasher after more than 500 days of siege.
According to Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab, these berms are preventing the entry of food and medicine and blocking civilians from leaving, effectively turning El Fasher into a fully besieged city. Around 750,000 civilians are estimated to be trapped inside, along with another 260,000 in Abu Shouk displacement camp—including 130,000 children—according to U.N. figures.
The report stressed that humanitarian conditions have reached catastrophic levels, with famine declared more than a year ago. Families have been forced to survive on animal fodder and food scraps. Nathaniel Raymond, HRL’s director, described the situation in El Fasher as “matched today only by Gaza.”
While the RSF controls most of the city’s perimeter, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied Joint Forces still hold areas inside, most notably El Fasher airport. Local sources said recent clashes killed senior RSF commanders.
Amjad Farid al-Tayeb, director of Fikra, denounced the international community’s silence as “shameful,” urging real pressure on the RSF and the United Arab Emirates to lift the siege and allow humanitarian aid.
Kate Ferguson, head of Protection Approaches, said El Fasher’s plight reflects a collective failure to protect civilians, noting that today’s atrocities mirror the Janjaweed massacres two decades ago—when the world pledged to “save Darfur.”
