Humanitarian Crisis Deepens in Sudan as El Fasher Sees Rising Casualties

EL FASHER, SUDAN — The humanitarian situation in the besieged Sudanese city of El Fasher has deteriorated further following intense fighting that has left dozens dead and hundreds wounded.

According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have resulted in significant casualties.

This past Sunday marked one of the deadliest days, with MSF reporting at least 16 fatalities and 114 injuries.

Over the last three days, the medical charity has recorded a total of 44 deaths in the city, which remains the last major stronghold of the Sudanese army in the Darfur region amidst a brutal civil war now over a year old.

Compounding the tragedy, MSF disclosed that a pediatric hospital it supports was forced to close after an airstrike devastated the facility, killing two children in the intensive care unit and a caregiver. Since Friday, MSF has treated 290 wounded individuals at another local hospital.

The international community has expressed increasing concern over the situation. UN officials have repeatedly warned that the escalation of violence poses a severe threat to hundreds of thousands of civilians in El Fasher, including many displaced by the ongoing conflict.

Meanwhile, the United States has issued warnings about the potential for a large-scale massacre if the violence continues to escalate.

As the fighting shows no sign of abating, aid organizations and international observers continue to call for immediate action to protect civilians and provide urgent medical and humanitarian assistance to those affected by the conflict.