Hundreds fleeing El-Fasher arrive in northern Sudan in dire condition

At least 642 people fleeing violence in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in western Sudan, have arrived in Sudan's Northern State after a "difficult and dangerous journey," a local medical group said Saturday.

The displaced families escaped "massacres" carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El-Fasher and arrived in the Al-Dabba area, the Sudan Doctors Network said in a post on the US social media company X.

It warned that the new arrivals are living in "dire humanitarian conditions," with inadequate shelter, severe shortages of food and clean water, and a lack of basic health services, particularly affecting children, women, and the elderly.

"These families are now facing severe living challenges that exceed the capacity of the host communities to cope with," the network said, warning that the number of displaced is expected to rise sharply in the coming days as the deterioration of the situation in Darfur continues.

It appealed to local authorities and humanitarian groups "inside and outside Sudan" to urgently provide medical aid, food, shelter, and psychological support to prevent "a total collapse of the humanitarian situation."

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Friday that more than 62,000 people have been displaced from El-Fasher within four days of the Rapid RSF taking control of the city.

El-Fasher fell under the control of RSF earlier this week after a months-long siege. Rights groups have accused the paramilitary group of committing mass killings, detaining people, and attacking hospitals.

Sudan has been ravaged by a civil war between the army and the RSF since April 2023, causing thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions of people.