A catastrophic malnutrition crisis is unfolding in Tawila, North Darfur, as children fleeing the recent fall of al-Fashir arrive at overwhelmed displacement camps in such severe condition that even medical treatment may not be enough to save their lives. This desperate situation stems from an 18-month siege where starvation was used as a weapon of war, and comes amid credible reports of mass killings following the city's capture by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Humanitarian workers on the ground describe a harrowing scene as people from al-Fashir arrive in Tawila after treacherous journeys through desert conditions. Mathilde Vu from the Norwegian Refugee Council reported that many arrive "so dehydrated they cannot talk," having survived on little more than animal feed and rainwater. The most vulnerable are children, who are arriving so severely malnourished that their bodies may be beyond recovery, despite the best efforts of aid groups. The Tawila camp, already overwhelmed with over 600,000 displaced people, is struggling to provide even basic supplies like soap and clean water, making it difficult to prevent the spread of disease among the deeply traumatized new arrivals.
This influx of starving civilians follows the capture of al-Fashir by the RSF paramilitary group in late October, after an 18-month siege that shattered the Sudanese army's last holdout in the vast western Darfur region. The United Nations Human Rights Council has announced an emergency session to address the situation, following grave concerns about mass killings during the city's fall. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has stated his office is receiving "multiple, alarming reports" that the RSF is carrying out atrocities, including summary executions, with a mounting risk of "ethnically motivated violations". It is estimated that as many as 200,000 people may still be trapped inside the city, facing extreme danger.
The famine conditions in al-Fashir did not occur by chance but were the result of a prolonged siege that systematically cut off access to food and aid. The RSF's 18-month siege created conditions where starvation was effectively used as a weapon of war. This tactic is part of a broader pattern of attacks on humanitarian efforts; the World Food Programme has reported millions of dollars worth of food aid looted since the conflict began, and hospitals have been repeatedly bombed and forcibly evacuated, destroying Sudan's health system. The United Nations has declared Sudan the most dangerous country in the world for humanitarian workers.
The crisis in al-Fashir has triggered international alarm, with over 50 states supporting an emergency UN Human Rights Council session to address the mass atrocities. A coalition of human rights organizations has appealed for the session, urging the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan to prepare an urgent flash report to document the crimes being committed. They warn that without immediate and decisive action, al-Fashir "could soon become the site of another mass atrocity etched into Darfur’s tragic history". This local crisis exists within the world's largest humanitarian disaster, where nearly 25 million people across Sudan need assistance, and the country's health and aid distribution systems have been brought to their knees.