Mass displacement, trafficking fears deepen crisis in Sudan’s El Fasher

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s El Fasher remains dire as mass displacement accelerates and aid access stays restricted, amid warnings of widespread trafficking, sexual violence and the recruitment of children.

UN agencies say conditions are deteriorating further across North Darfur and neighbouring Kordofan, while independent human rights experts on Thursday warned that the collapse of protection following the city’s fall has sharply increased the risks facing women and children.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of El Fasher – the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state – on 26 October after an 18-month siege that cut residents off from food, medicine and other critical supplies. The city had been the government’s last major stronghold in the Darfur region.

According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), families who fled the fighting are now scattered across five locations surrounding El Fasher, including Tawila, while others have reached more distant areas such as Dabbah in Northern State and even the national capital, Khartoum.

Currently, 1,485 metric tons of food and nutrition supplies – enough for about 130,000 people – are en route to Tawila through the Dabbah Crossing, adding to ongoing assistance for those displaced earlier this year.

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Renewed fighting in Kordofan

Meanwhile, renewed fighting in the Kordofan region is driving further large-scale displacement.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 1,800 people were displaced in South Kordofan on Tuesday alone, while in North Kordofan nearly 40,000 people were uprooted between 25 October and 18 November.

Sudan’s war erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between the RSF and the national Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). It quickly devolved into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, marked by famine, mass displacement and widespread atrocities.

Trafficking concerns

Against this backdrop, independent human rights experts expressed alarm on Thursday at reports of trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and sexual slavery, and the recruitment of children as fighters, particularly since the RSF takeover of El Fasher.

“We are deeply concerned at the alarming reports of human trafficking since the takeover of El Fasher and surrounding areas by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF),” the experts said.

“Women and girls have been abducted in RSF-controlled areas, and women, unaccompanied and separated children are at elevated risk of sexual violence and sexual exploitation.”

Since the siege of El Fasher began in May 2024, more than 470,000 people have been displaced multiple times from camps including Shagra, Zamzam and Abu Shouk. Across Sudan, nearly 12 million people – about half of them children – are now forcibly displaced or have fled to neighbouring countries, with sexual violence reported in conflict zones nationwide.

The experts – who are mandated and appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and are not UN staff – cited multiple incidents of rape and sexual abuse near RSF checkpoints and at sites sheltering displaced people, including the reported gang-rape of 25 women near El Fasher University.

They urged all parties to immediately halt violations against civilians and called on Member States to take urgent action following the Human Rights Council’s recent special session on the situation in and around El Fasher.

UN envoy to press for dialogue

Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, is preparing to travel to Port Sudan and Addis Ababa next week to press for renewed political dialogue. He is expected to focus on the urgent need for civilian protection and unhindered humanitarian access across Darfur and Kordofan.