UNICEF said in a statement on X that “thousands of families are fleeing violence in El-Fasher, arriving exhausted, hungry & malnourished” in Tawila, North Darfur.
Abubakar Ahmed, a UNICEF nutrition specialist, said more than 6,000 people—mostly women and children—fled from El-Fasher to Tawila last week, with new arrivals continuing daily.
He said the displaced “came in a very bad, poor condition due to the long roads” between the two cities, a journey stretching more than 60 kilometers.
According to Ahmed, many families travel on foot for four to five days, often facing violence and deprivation. “The displaced face major challenges along the way, with some being beaten, while others spend days without food or water,” he said. “When they arrive – really, they looked thirsty, and most of them are malnourished, even children and adults.”
Many children arrived alone and do not know the whereabouts of their families, Ahmed added.
Sudan’s Ministry of Social Welfare Undersecretary Salma Ishaq told Al Jazeera that 25 women were raped and 300 people killed by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters in El-Fasher.
The World Health Organization’s regional director urged protection of health facilities in the city and called for unhindered humanitarian access. A doctor at El-Fasher Hospital reported patients dying due to a shortage of medical supplies.
The displacement followed the RSF’s capture of El-Fasher on Sunday after clashes with the Sudanese army. The group has not commented on UNICEF’s statement.
Earlier, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned of thousands of civilians trapped inside the city and said its teams in Tawila were preparing for a mass influx of displaced and wounded people.
On Wednesday, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, acknowledged that “violations” had occurred by his forces in El-Fasher and said investigation committees were being formed.
Since April 15, 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been at war, a conflict that has killed about 20,000 people and displaced over 15 million, according to UN and local reports.
At a security summit in Manama, Bahrain, on Saturday, the foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, and Jordan jointly called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan following reports of atrocities in Darfur.
The ministers condemned what they described as “horrifying” violence by the RSF in El-Fasher, where the UN says hundreds of civilians have been killed in ethnically targeted attacks.
Officials said more than 450 people were killed in a hospital, with reports of mass executions and sexual violence. The RSF denied the allegations, but satellite images, social media footage, and survivor accounts indicate widespread devastation.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called the conflict a “humanitarian crisis and devastating conflict” that the international community has failed to address.
“Mass executions, starvation, and the devastating use of rape as a weapon of war, with women and children bearing the brunt of the largest humanitarian crisis in the 21st century,” Cooper said. “No amount of aid can resolve a crisis of this magnitude until the guns fall silent.”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described the situation as “absolutely an apocalyptic situation,” while Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Sudan has not received “the attention it deserves,” calling the crisis “of inhumane proportions.”