Women in El Fasher Endure Starvation, Violence Amid Relentless North Darfur Siege

For over 500 days, women and girls in El Fasher, North Darfur, have endured one of the harshest sieges in recent history. Cut off from humanitarian aid and left without protection, they face a deadly combination of starvation used as a weapon of war, indiscriminate bombardments, and systematic sexual violence.

Mounting Civilian Casualties

According to United Nations reports, at least 125 civilians have been killed in the past three weeks alone, including through summary executions. The actual number is believed to be higher, as reporting is limited due to attacks on aid convoys and restricted access for observers.

Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, more than 600,000 people have been displaced from El Fasher and its surrounding camps. Inside the besieged city, famine-level conditions, as classified by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), are worsening by the day. With food stocks exhausted, families are surviving on animal feed and tree leaves.

Attacks on Civilians and Humanitarian Workers

Repeated assaults on humanitarian personnel and the looting of aid convoys have crippled relief operations. Forty-one health and educational facilities have been destroyed across North Darfur, leaving the population without essential services. Medical supplies have run out, forcing pregnant women to give birth without skilled attendants and leaving survivors of sexual violence without treatment.

Zahara, a mother still trapped inside the city, shared her testimony with UN Women Sudan:

“I am speaking about the bitter and painful suffering of women and girls trapped in the city of El Fasher. We are facing death by missiles, starvation, daily violations, and rape.”

Women and Girls at the Epicenter of the Crisis

North Darfur hosts more than 1.79 million internally displaced people (IDPs), representing 8 per cent of Sudan’s displaced population. Women and girls make up 54 per cent of those displaced. In camps such as Abu Shouk, famine conditions were already declared in December 2024, with incursions and attacks on civilians continuing unabated.

The violations faced by women and girls are being recognized as grave breaches of international law. Conflict-related sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, has been deployed as a systematic weapon of war. Simultaneously, deliberate starvation of civilians violates international humanitarian law, with both patterns amounting to war crimes.

Community Resilience and Women’s Leadership

Despite the devastating conditions, women-led organizations and volunteers are sustaining community survival. With scarce resources, they provide food, water, and informal health services, as well as psychosocial support for survivors of violence. However, they urgently require direct and sustained international support to continue their work.

Global Calls for Action

UN Women has condemned all violations against women and girls and aligned with the UN Secretary-General in demanding an immediate ceasefire in and around El Fasher. The agency has called for:

• Safe, unhindered humanitarian access to deliver lifesaving supplies.

• Protection of civilians, particularly women and girls.

• Safe passage for those wishing to leave the city voluntarily.

• Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2736 (2024), which demands an end to the siege of El Fasher and South Kordofan and obliges all parties to protect civilians.

The Urgency of Global Response

The suffering in El Fasher is emblematic of the wider crisis engulfing Sudan. Each day of inaction deepens famine, fuels atrocities, and erodes hope. UN Women stressed that the plight of Zahara and others must serve as a wake-up call to the international community.

“The courage of El Fasher’s women must be met with decisive global action. The world cannot remain silent,” the agency said in a statement.

For the women and girls of El Fasher, every day is a fight for survival. Without urgent intervention, the humanitarian crisis risks descending into an even greater catastrophe.