UN official discusses El Fasher humanitarian crisis with Sudan, RSF
August 25, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – A senior United Nations aid official has met with a Sudanese government representative and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to discuss the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan, particularly around the besieged city of El Fasher, the UN said on Friday.
Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, spoke with Sudan’s Transitional Prime Minister Kamil Idris and RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo this week to address the dire needs of civilians, according to a briefing by UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
The meetings focused on expanding humanitarian access across the country, including the Darfur and Kordofan regions, and ensuring essential aid reaches those in need.
Fletcher met in person with Idris on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss efforts to move pre-positioned aid supplies into El Fasher and increase access.
He also spoke by phone with General Daglo to convey the UN’s “grave concerns” over the crisis in North Darfur’s state capital, stressing the urgent need to “protect civilians, halt the fighting and ensure safe humanitarian access.”
Civilians in El Fasher continue to endure “relentless attacks, acute hunger and cholera,” facing daily threats from shelling, air strikes, and drone attacks, with fierce clashes reported in the city’s north-eastern districts in recent weeks, Dujarric said.
The spokesperson highlighted a recent attack on a UNICEF compound in El Fasher, where shelling killed at least seven people who had been sheltering there and injured others. Days earlier, armed individuals had entered the compound and taken communications equipment and several vehicles.
Despite not having accessed the compound since March 2024, the UN reiterated that it remains protected under UN privileges and immunities.
The heightened insecurity continues to displace people, with more than 1,600 fleeing El Fasher on Tuesday and Wednesday alone, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Hundreds of thousands of those who fled are now living in dire conditions in Tawila, North Darfur, where the UN and its partners are providing support. OCHA stated that $120 million is “urgently required” for immediate needs in Tawila, where the World Food Programme (WFP) reached some 450,000 people with food and nutrition aid last month.
Elsewhere in Sudan, Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown concluded a two-day visit to Khartoum this week, meeting with government officials, communities, and front-line workers to discuss urgent priorities. Joint efforts are underway to assist recovery in the capital.
UNICEF also announced that two generators were en route to Khartoum to restore safe water in cholera-affected areas.