Sudan War Update: Humanitarian crisis in El Fasher, North Darfur State

The humanitarian situation of civilians in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, has continued to worsen since our last update. This decline is a direct result of the lack of interventions from both Sudanese war parties: the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and their allied military groups fighting alongside each of them.

However, while RSF and allied groups have encouraged civilians to evacuate El Fasher as a sign of their willingness to declare the end of fighting, Mr. Abu Bakar Hamed Noor, a leader within the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) (a movement fighting alongside SAF), has made statements calling on the people of El Fasher and Kadogli in South Kordofan to fight and end the siege imposed by RSF on their towns. This statement is a clear indication that SAF and its allies are unwilling to lay down their arms and observe a ceasefire. 

Currently, around 740,000 civilians are in El Fasher, trapped in extremely dire circumstances. Most cannot afford to leave the town or move to safer areas. Those who remain face severe hardship, including high numbers of cholera cases, especially in the Tawilla and Jebel Marra areas. On the other hand, calls for ending the siege through military means risk causing another slow death for civilians, as it could lead to heavy, indiscriminate shelling into safe zones, where injuries would result in prolonged suffering.

Food scarcity and the escalating prices

The RSF has cut off trade routes and blocked supply lines to El Fasher, making it almost impossible for civilians to access basic food items, such as sorghum and wheat, which are used to make traditional flatbreads and porridge. Food prices in El Fasher cost up to 460 percent more than in the rest of Sudan.

The list of food prices compiled by the North Darfur state Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources for the last week of July 2025 highlights the ongoing risk of hunger among civilians. Prices are listed per kilogram in Sudanese Pounds (SDP), with transactions typically conducted either in cash (C) or electronically via mobile money transfer (MT). It is, however, notable that prices are higher when transacting electronically compared to cash. Due to frequent shortages, markets are often out of stock, prompting sellers with stock to increase prices.

Prices of items in Sudanese Pounds (SDP);

• Millet goes for 81,000 in cash and 140,000 MT
• Sorghum costs 75,000 in cash and 130000 MT, although it is scarce and not available in the market.
• Sugar goes for 45,000 in cash and 90,000 MT 
• Vegetable oil: 40,000 cash and 80,000 MT
• Salt: 18,000 cash and 31,500 MT
• Powdered milk: 80,000 cash and 140,000 MT
• Onions:  40000 C
• Bundle of Firewood: 1000 
• Dried tomatoes: 14000 in Cash and 27,000 MT
• Flour: 80,000 Cash and 1,200,000 MT 
• Beef: 34,000 in cash and 60,000 MT
• Goat meat: 32,000 in cash and 60,000 MT 

Background 

Since May 2025, El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, has been under siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been at war with the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023. The RSF has encircled the city, blocking all major roads and trapping hundreds of thousands of civilians who have dwindling food supplies and limited humanitarian access. Ultimately, El Fasher remains the most critical town in Sudan, with no options left besides serious international intervention to rescue its civilians.