Sudan doctors warn of rising child deaths as famine and siege devastate El Fasher

The Sudan Doctors Network (SDN) has sounded a grave warning about a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in El Fasher, North Darfur, where an ongoing siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has led to catastrophic food shortages, widespread malnutrition, and an alarming rise in child deaths.

In a statement released this week, the SDN said the situation has “surpassed all comprehension,” with at least three children dying every day from hunger, disease, and the collapse of essential medical and humanitarian services.

“We are following with deep concern the tragic situation through our field teams in El Fasher,” the statement read. “The humanitarian situation has surpassed all comprehension due to the severe food and medicine crisis caused by the ongoing siege.”

The network warned that thousands of children are at imminent risk, as humanitarian corridors remain sealed, preventing aid agencies from delivering lifesaving supplies.

El Fasher, the last major city in Darfur under Sudanese government control, has been under an intense blockade amid relentless fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF. Repeated appeals by international organizations for safe humanitarian access have so far been ignored, leaving tens of thousands trapped without relief.

Residents say they are now completely encircled, after RSF forces constructed a 57-kilometer (35-mile) dirt barrier around the city, effectively cutting off all escape routes. Food stocks have been exhausted, community kitchens have shut down, and even animal feed substitutes have disappeared from the markets.

New evidence from Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) indicates that the RSF has deliberately targeted civilian shelters in El Fasher. Satellite imagery shows the Dar Al-Arqam Shelter at Omdurman Islamic University and the Abu Shouk Old Mosque Shelter sustained heavy bombardment between October 8 and 12, 2025, with at least four main buildings and numerous makeshift shelters destroyed.

Reports from the El Fasher Resistance Committee, corroborated by HRL analysts, allege that RSF forces used drones and artillery in coordinated attacks, striking areas populated by women, children, and the elderly.

Further satellite analysis revealed widespread destruction and arson in Shagara Humaida, a location used by people fleeing the city. Dozens of homes were reportedly burned, forcing even more families into displacement.

Between late September and early October 2025, HRL identified over 60 new burial mounds in the Daraja Oula neighborhood, believed to mark a sharp rise in civilian deaths. Bombardments also intensified in districts held by the SAF, with over 200 munition impacts recorded near military installations, including visible fire damage at El Fasher Airport.

Local sources report that RSF fighters have been forcibly evicting civilians from displacement camps and burning residential areas, pushing people into ever smaller and overcrowded zones, often around mosques and hospitals that are now being shelled.

With no functioning supply routes, collapsing health services, and spreading disease, the humanitarian crisis in El Fasher has reached critical levels. Aid agencies warn that unless access is restored immediately, famine and mass deaths could soon engulf the city.