Al-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in Sudan, experienced one of the most severe humanitarian and paramilitary crises of the 21st century. The city had been under a suffocating siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces for more than 550 days, before being stormed on Monday, October 26th amid total international silence as the city’s humanitarian support and medical service systems completely collapsed. According to circulated video footage, the Rapid Support Forces that stormed the city carried out mass executions of civilians who tried to flee on October 26th and 27th. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has received multiple alarming reports indicating that the Rapid Support Forces are committing atrocities after taking control of large parts of besieged al-Fasher in North Darfur and Bara in North Kordofan over recent days. These include the execution of five men (without any legal framework for execution) by Rapid Support Forces fighters for attempting to bring food supplies into the city, according to the UN human rights office.

The Sudanese Doctors Network reported that the Rapid Support Forces had abducted six medical workers in al-Fasher who had been providing care to patients and the wounded throughout the city’s siege. The group demanded a ransom of 100 million Sudanese pounds for each of them.

According to reports by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 260,000 civilians are trapped in al-Fasher without safe passage, as they suffer from a total lack of food security. Recent data indicates that about 38% of children under the age of 5 suffer from severe malnutrition, and that one in three people is suffering from a disease(s) resulting from a lack of water, food, and medical care. UNICEF has warned that thousands of children in al-Fasher are suffering from severe malnutrition and life-threatening medical complications after more than 500 days of siege, noting that ‘every day that passes without aid brings hundreds of children closer to the brink of death from starvation or disease’. 

Since the beginning of the siege, international organizations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented dozens of drone and artillery attacks assaulting and targeting shelters, displacement centers, schools, and mosques inside the city. In the last three weeks alone, more than 90 civilians, including women and children, were murdered in successive raids on the neighborhoods of al-Matar, al-Zuhur, and al-Wadi. Field reports also indicate that the main hospital in al-Fasher is out of service after being targeted repeatedly and has stopped receiving wounded patients due to a lack of fuel and medical supplies.

Preventing humanitarian access and cutting off roads leading to the city are war crimes and crimes against humanity under international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Convention. In a report issued on October 2nd, 2025, the United Nations warned of the ‘risk of mass atrocities’ in al-Fasher, given the continuing siege and targeting of civilians on the basis of their tribal affiliation.

In light of these unacceptable humanitarian conditions, we call on the international community, governments, and relevant organizations to do the following:

1. Immediately cease hostilities and protect civilians, especially children.
2. Allow for unimpeded access to humanitarian aid for all affected people.
3. The international community must work to open safe humanitarian corridors and establish an air bridge to deliver food and medicine to the besieged population.
4. We call on neighboring countries, particularly Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan, to fulfill their international and humanitarian obligations by receiving forcibly displaced people from al-Fasher, providing them with basic necessities, medical and psychological care, and allowing their entry without restrictions.
5. Providing protection for humanitarian workers and facilities involved in delivering humanitarian and health services.
6. Providing full protection for forcibly displaced people inside al-Fasher, as well as for those who have fled to neighboring areas, and ensuring that their essential needs are met.
7. Provide urgent and flexible funding to expand life-saving interventions.
8. Urge the African Union and the International Court of Justice to launch immediate investigations into the war crimes and ethnic violations that took place in Darfur, and to hold accountable those responsible for crimes committed against all Sudanese civilians, as well as the entities that support them.
9. Call on the international media to highlight the silent genocide in al-Fasher and to document developments pertaining to any daily massacres.
10. Stress the need to declare al-Fasher a humanitarian disaster zone and activate urgent international protection mechanisms for civilians in accordance with the principle of ‘responsibility to protect’ (R2P).

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