Drfur armed group rejects aid to El Fasher, citing fighting
July 1, 2025 (EL FASHER) – A Sudanese armed group from the Darfur region said on Tuesday it had rejected a United Nations request to allow humanitarian aid into El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, declaring the city a military combat zone.
The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) Transitional Council said in a message to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres that most civilians had already fled the city.
The announcement comes after Sudan’s army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, agreed on Friday to a one-week ceasefire in El Fasher to allow for aid delivery. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been besieging the city since April, have not publicly responded.
“The movement sent an urgent message to the United Nations Secretary-General… that El Fasher has become a military operations zone and that the majority of the civilian population and displaced people have fled the inferno of war to safer areas,” SLM spokesman Abdel Aziz Abdel Karim told the Sudan Tribune.
The SLM, along with other factions, has been evacuating civilians from El Fasher for months. However, some of those fleeing have reported abuses by the RSF and allied militias.
The spokesman urged humanitarian organizations to redirect aid to areas where civilians have fled, including Tawila, Jebel Marra, and Korma, which are now sheltering thousands of people in dire conditions with shortages of food and medicine.
The SLM, a rival faction led by Abdel Wahid Nour, and the RSF all control territory in the region.
The SLM spokesman issued an “urgent appeal” for remaining civilians to leave El Fasher and head to SLM-controlled areas, stating the group was ready to coordinate with aid agencies to ensure their safety and the delivery of assistance.
El Fasher has been the scene of fierce fighting between the army and its allied armed movements on one side, and the RSF on the other. The conflict has resulted in numerous civilian deaths, widespread destruction, and a severe scarcity of goods.