Hundreds of thousands of people under siege in the Sudanese army's last holdout in the western Darfur region are running out of food and coming under constant artillery and drone barrages, while those who flee risk cholera and violent attacks.

Al Fashir

Civilians in and around al-Fashir, Sudan, are experiencing severe hardship as fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensifies. Many have fled violence, reporting theft, killings, and sexual violence by armed groups. The RSF's push to control al-Fashir threatens to give them dominance over the Darfur region, raising concerns about further division within Sudan.

Displacement camps such as Tawila are overwhelmed, with little shelter or aid available due to foreign funding cuts. The rainy season and poor sanitation have contributed to a cholera outbreak, with dozens dead and thousands treated. Hunger is widespread, as food supplies are blocked and aid convoys attacked, forcing many to survive on animal feed, which is also running out.

Hunger mounts and cemeteries grow in Sudan's besieged al-Fashir

At the Tawila camp in Sudan, people carry with them stories of disease, hunger and violence. It's located about 40 miles west of al-Fasha. The Sudanese army is the last stronghold in Darfur after more than two years of war. With the army having pushed the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, out of Sudan's capital Khartoum earlier this year, the battle for al-Fasha has intensified. Inam Abdallah Mohammed says they fled another camp in the area, Zamzam, because of the RSF, and were then attacked in a village near al-Fasha. If they find a person with a mobile phone, they would take it from him. If you have money, they take it. If you have a good donkey or something like that, they'll take it from you. They kill people. They killed people in front of us. They took girls in front of us and raped them. Al-Fasha's fall would give the RSF control of nearly all of Darfur, a vast region bordering Libya, Chad, a Central African Republic and South Sudan. That could pave the way, analysts say, for Sudan's de facto division. Residents in al-Fasha, capital of North Darfur, have reported RSF artillery and drone attacks throughout the day and night. One doctor said hunger is a bigger problem than the shelling, with children and adults malnourished. Many have fled to Tawila, now hosting half a million displaced people. However, with humanitarian organisations stretched by foreign aid cuts, Tawila offers little aid or shelter. Huda Ali says there are no tarps to protect them from the rain, nor mosquito nets. Sudan's rainy season, combined with the poor living conditions and inadequate sanitation, is also driving the spread of cholera. Some 52 people have died from the disease, according to one Sudanese advocacy group that operates across Darfur. Médecins Sans Frontières says it has treated 2,500 cholera cases since mid-June. Hunger is also a problem, with many people living in camps such as Zamzam, where monitors say famine has already taken hold. Locals say the RSF has blocked food supplies and that aid convoys trying to reach al-Fasha have been attacked. The RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Residents say many have resorted to eating hay, or ambaz, a type of animal feed made out of peanut shells. But one advocacy group said even the ambaz was running out.

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Breakdown