Three children die daily from hunger in Sudan’s besieged El Fasher, doctors say
October 24, 2025 (EL FASHER) – At least three children are dying every day in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, due to hunger and a lack of food amid deteriorating humanitarian and health conditions, the Sudan Doctors Network said on Friday.
El Fasher has been under a tight siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2024. The situation worsened after the RSF completed a 57-kilometre-long earth barrier around the city and tightened control over exit points in late September, leading to a scarcity of most food commodities.
“Every passing day, we lose at least three children in El Fasher due to malnutrition, disease, and the scarcity of health and humanitarian resources,” said Razan Mahdi, a spokeswoman for the Sudan Doctors Network, in a statement.
She added that the humanitarian situation in the city is witnessing a “terrible deterioration,” with a rise in child mortality due to acute food shortages and high rates of malnutrition-related diseases, with no signs of humanitarian corridors being opened to save thousands of besieged children and families.
The network expressed its grave concern over the tragic conditions monitored by its field teams, stating that the severe food and medicine crisis resulting from the continuous siege has pushed the humanitarian situation “beyond comprehension.”
According to the United Nations, El Fasher’s trapped population of 260,000, including 130,000 children, relies on “Ambaz,” a type of animal fodder, for survival.
The RSF has recently intensified its shelling of the Al-Daraja Al-Oula neighbourhood, one of the few remaining areas inhabited by tens of thousands of besieged civilians, after making significant military advances since August.
The same forces have carried out raids on all houses in the neighbourhoods they recently captured, burning them down. Its members are also reportedly carrying out summary executions, extortion, and sexual assaults against those fleeing the city.