GNV News 2025/8/13

In the Sudan conflict ongoing since 2023/4, people fleeing the fighting to seek refuge in various places continue to suffer from hunger and attacks by armed groups.

As of 2025/8, El Fasher in North Darfur State is one of the areas where fighting between the rival Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is most intense. Since the conflict broke out, the SAF and other forces in El Fasher have been encircled and isolated by the RSF. Because capturing El Fasher would allow the RSF to bring almost all of the Darfur region under its control, it has intensified its attacks. The city is blockaded by the RSF, so aid supplies such as food are barely getting in. Food prices have surged beyond people’s reach, deepening hunger. People are trying to stave off hunger by, among other things, eating animal feed, but hunger among roughly 740,000 people is worsening, and in just the first half of 2025 at least 239 children died of hunger. Many have fled further to Tawila, located west of El Fasher, but there are reports that they are attacked by RSF fighters along the way.

Located 15km southwest of El Fasher, the Zamzam refugee camp was once one of the largest displacement camps in Sudan, sheltering more than 500,000 people. However, in 2025/4, it was attacked by the RSF over 3 days, forcing many to flee. Around 400,000 people were forced into further displacement from the Zamzam refugee camp to various parts of North Darfur State. Many people are believed to have been killed or abducted in this attack. The UN announced that there were hundreds of deaths, but it is estimated that in reality more than 1,500 people were killed. As of 2025/8, however, since the Zamzam camp is under RSF control, the total could be even higher when accounting for bodies that have not been recovered.

Amid such intense fighting, people in Sudan are also suffering from hunger and a widespread cholera outbreak. Nevertheless, the UN’s humanitarian response plan has received only 23% of the required funding.

Learn more about the Sudan conflict→「Where the Sudan conflict is heading」

Listen to the podcast about the Sudan conflict→「Sudan conflict (GNV Podcast 141)」