Starvation Deaths Reported in Sudan’s Besieged El Fasher, Activists Say

A meal made from 'Ambaz', an animal feed byproduct, is prepared by volunteers in El Fasher, Sudan, July 26, 2025

July 26, 2025 (EL FASHER, North Darfur) – Activists in Sudan’s besieged city of El Fasher reported deaths from starvation on Saturday, warning that a near-total depletion of food from a prolonged siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has become a “true humanitarian tragedy.”

“We confirm with deep sorrow that we are witnessing deaths due to hunger and malnutrition,” the North Darfur Emergency Rooms Coordination Council, a local activist body, said in a statement.

The warning comes after a United Nations assessment published on July 8 showed 38% of children under five in the city’s displacement sites suffered from acute malnutrition.

Essential goods have vanished from markets, forcing desperate residents to eat “Ambaz”—a residue from oil production commonly used as animal feed—to survive, according to multiple reports from activists on the ground.

Volunteer Mohamed al-Rifa’i told Sudan Tribune that free kitchens, which provided meals to thousands, had been forced to stop operating after their stocks ran out completely.

The crisis has led to a significant increase in food prices. A merchant in the Abu Shouk camp’s Nivasha market told Sudan Tribune that a single sack of millet, a local staple, sold for 4.2 million Sudanese pounds (about $1,750) on Saturday. He predicted the staple would vanish entirely within days.

The RSF has besieged the North Darfur capital since April 2024, deploying fighters on all access roads to block aid and commercial goods, according to local reports. The Nivasha market, one of the few still partially operating, faces daily shelling that has killed dozens of civilians.

The emergency council called for immediate international intervention, stating that “every delay means more suffering and loss of innocent lives” and holding humanitarian organizations “morally and humanitarily responsible” to act before it is too late.