Hunger crisis deepens in Sudan’s El Fasher as 229 Die under RSF siege
The commission added that over 74,000 civilians, nearly half of them children, remain trapped and are now surviving on sorghum grain, usually used as animal feed.
At least 229 people, including children and the elderly, have died of hunger in Sudan's El Fasher since late August, a local humanitarian commission has reported amid an ongoing siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The dead, the Humanitarian Aid Commission reports, include 171 children and 58 elderly people, with the agency adding that the blockade has pushed the total death toll from fighting and starvation in the North Darfur capital to 675, with 1,464 others injured.
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The commission added that over 74,000 civilians, nearly half of them children, remain trapped and are now surviving on sorghum grain, usually used as animal feed.
Traders in El Fasher had earlier warned that food stocks had run out after RSF fighters sealed off the city with earth barriers, as aid operations have nearly collapsed, with only six soup kitchens still running and 15 others forced to scale back due to insecurity and lack of funds.
The commission has called for the blockade to be lifted immediately to enable food airdrops and create safe routes for relief supplies and medical evacuations.
Last week, a new report by humanitarian group MedGlobal revealed worsening conditions in El Fasher, where more than 90 per cent of homes have been destroyed, damaged, or looted amid ongoing shelling, hunger and disease outbreaks.
The report found that one in four families had lost a relative in the past three months, while health workers recorded widespread malnutrition among those who fled to the nearby town of Al Dabbah.
According to MedGlobal, three-quarters of residents rarely have access to food or water because of the siege, with one in five children under five suffering from acute malnutrition and nearly 40 per cent of pregnant and breastfeeding women severely undernourished.
The RSF siege has cut off most supply routes and forced many families to move repeatedly within the city in search of safety. Three-quarters of residents have been displaced at least three times, according to MedGlobal, while 81 per cent said they never felt safe moving around.
"The destruction of homes and health infrastructure has made El Fasher uninhabitable," MedGlobal said.
In recent weeks, the Sudanese army has carried out small-scale food airdrops to support the city's defenders, but aid agencies say the supplies are nowhere near enough to meet civilian needs. Many families remain in trenches and underground shelters to escape ongoing shelling, as reports of starvation-related deaths continue to increase.
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