Hey fam, here’s a reality check: just this month, a small UN team made its first visit in nearly two years to El-Fasher, a city in North Darfur that’s now the epicentre of human suffering in Sudan 😢.
Back in October, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—a powerful paramilitary group—seized the city after more than 500 days of siege. Since then, residents have been left without clean water, sanitation or reliable food supplies, and large parts of El-Fasher lie in ruins.
Denise Brown, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, described El-Fasher as a “crime scene.” While human rights experts will dig into the details, her team’s priority is getting aid to traumatised civilians who remain trapped in precarious conditions.
“We weren’t able to see any of the detainees, and we believe there are detainees,” Brown told AFP. The UN negotiators had to work hard with the RSF to secure just a few hours of access. In that time, they toured an overburdened hospital and some abandoned UN premises, bearing witness to the desperate needs on the ground.
Once home to over a million people, El-Fasher is now facing famine. Since the conflict between Sudan’s regular army and its former ally RSF broke out in April 2023, the country has been engulfed in a humanitarian catastrophe. Brown warns that without swift action, more lives will be at risk.
This crisis isn’t just a headline—it’s a call to stay informed, raise awareness and support credible relief efforts. For those of us in South and Southeast Asia, it’s a reminder of how interconnected our world is, and how powerful our voices can be when we advocate for change 🌍✨.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
