UN Finds dire conditions on first visit to Sudan’s el-Fasher since its fall

The United Nations has described alarming humanitarian conditions in Sudan’s western Darfur city of el-Fasher, following its first visit since the city fell to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in October.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Denise Brown said the hours-long mission was carried out under extreme tension. “It was a tense mission, because we’re going into what we don’t know, into what the UN has been describing as a massive crime scene,” she said, noting the visit came shortly after the killing of peacekeepers in nearby Kadugli.

Brown said only small numbers of civilians were visible during the visit, though the UN believes many others remain detained or injured and in need of urgent medical evacuation. Villages surrounding el-Fasher appeared completely abandoned, while those still in the city are surviving in damaged buildings or makeshift shelters without clean water, toilets or adequate food.

The UN says hundreds of civilians remain, facing shortages of medicine, education and basic supplies. Food prices are extreme, with a kilogram of rice reportedly costing up to 100 dollars.

Brown warned the situation reflects a broader “pattern of atrocities” in Sudan’s war, stressing that further UN assessments and humanitarian access are urgently needed.