World

UN visit to El Fasher finds traumatised civilians

Published: 04:12 PM,Dec 29,2025 | EDITED : 08:12 PM,Dec 29,2025

Displaced Sudanese react after spending a night in Gedaref city eastern Sudan on December 26, 2025 after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the Heglig area in western Sudan. Since its outbreak in April 2023, the war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million. At the end of October, the paramilitary group seized control El-Fasher, the conclusion of a bitter 18-month siege for the strategic hub in western Sudan's Darfur region and marked by reports of mass killings and sexual violence. (Photo by AFP)
 
Displaced Sudanese react after spending a night in Gedaref city eastern Sudan on December 26, 2025 after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the Heglig area in western Sudan. Since its outbreak in April 2023, the war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million. At the end of October, the paramilitary group seized control El-Fasher, the conclusion of a bitter 18-month siege for the strategic hub in western Sudan's Darfur region and marked by reports of mass killings and sexual violence. (Photo by AFP)

PORT SUDAN: Traumatised civilians left in Sudan's El Fasher after its capture by paramilitary forces are living without water or sanitation in a city haunted by famine, UN aid coordinator Denise Brown said on Monday. El Fasher fell to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in October after more than 500 days of siege, and last Friday, a small UN humanitarian team was able to make its first short visit in almost two years.
The capture of the city was reportedly accompanied by mass atrocities, including massacres, torture and violence. Satellite pictures show what appear to be mass graves. Brown described the city as a 'crime scene', but said investigations would be carried out by human rights experts while her office focuses on restoring aid to the survivors. 'We weren't able to see any of the detainees, and we believe there are detainees,' she said. From a humanitarian point of view, she said, El Fasher remains Sudan's 'epicentre of human suffering' and the city — which once held more than a million people — is still facing a famine. 'El Fasher is a ghost of its former self,' Brown said in an interview. — AFP