Avaaz: 100 Civil Society Groups Appeal for Safe Passage for Civilians Under Siege in El Fasher

 

Avaaz

100 Civil Society Groups Appeal for Safe Passage for Civilians Under Siege in El Fasher

 

* Two consecutive RSF attacks on El Fasher kill 22 civilians in 48 hours *

* Reports indicate RSF shelling of the city is ongoing right now *  

 

THU, 2 OCT -- 100 civil society organisations and humanitarian actors have called for urgent civilian protection in El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur. Time is running out for the estimated 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, trapped in Darfur’s final battleground between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

 

The call comes as conditions for people in El Fasher continue to deteriorate, with reports indicating the RSF is shelling the city right now. This follows a spate of recent attacks. On Wednesday, the Sudan Doctors Network reported that 16 civilians, including three women, were killed and 21 others injured, among them five children, in a deliberate drone attack on residential neighborhoods. El Fasher resistance committees coordination identified the location of the attack as a civilian gathering in Daraja Awlaa neighbourhood. Just a day earlier, at least six civilians were killed and dozens injured, when the RSF shelled one of El Fasher’s largest displacement shelters, striking as families gathered for breakfast.

 

These recent attacks are just the latest in a siege of the city by the RSF, which has now lasted over 500 days. The RSF has repeatedly used starvation as a weapon of war, by blocking food and lifesaving humanitarian assistance from entering. Meanwhile, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reports that there are no safe exit routes from El Fasher.

 

Given the critical situation, a statement coordinated by PAEMA and Avaaz, and signed by 100 groups including Refugees International, The Sentry and the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, urgently calls for safe humanitarian access, including voluntary safe passages for civilians trapped in El Fasher.

"Evacuation routes need to be secured without delay to provide civilians in El Fasher safe, voluntary, and dignified passage," the statement says. "The greatest solution to address civilian protection threats in Sudan is a comprehensive nationwide ceasefire.

Jamal, who helps run a local soup kitchen, told Avaaz on Wednesday: “The RSF targeted innocent displaced people inside the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq shelter. Entire residential blocks were set ablaze. Two young children lost their mother in the attack. No one has yet identified them or found their families. They remain alone in the shelter. The humanitarian situation is catastrophic—famine, shelling, killing. Even the centers meant for safety are not spared.

"We beg for the siege of El Fasher to be broken and for humanitarian assistance to reach us. Civilians are starving, children are dying, and every day brings new massacres. Life here has become unbearable."

Over 470,000 people have been displaced from El Fasher and surrounding areas since the start of the siege in May 2024. In the past four weeks, the violence has sharply escalated, along with attacks on civilians. Men of fighting age are killed on the road. Leaving El Fasher is now more dangerous than staying despite the daily shelling and frequent drone attacks.

The joint statement lays out four core measures in order to avoid mass civilian casualties in El Fasher:

• Safe and voluntary routes must be immediately secured for civilians to leave El Fasher.
• An evacuation coordinator should be identified from a lead agency with operational capacity and a ground presence.
• Humanitarian access routes must be established and monitored using satellite imagery and surveillance UAVs, with daily reports provided to relevant UN bodies, agencies, and key stakeholders.
• Humanitarian access to El Fasher must be secured to provide life-saving assistance, including medical care, to these vulnerable populations. The humanitarian response across North Darfur must also be scaled up.

Many in El Fasher are not able to safely evacuate the city because they are starving, weak, sick, elderly, disabled, or injured. Humanitarian aid must include water, food, medicine and other essential supplies. Aid access is also urgent to counter confirmed famine and the worst cholera outbreak Sudan has seen in years, having already caused at least 350 deaths in Darfur.

 

“With famine spreading and daily bombardments killing civilians, the international community cannot sit by and watch another Rwanda or Srebrenica unfold." said Andrew Legon, Avaaz Campaign Director