The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a famine in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher, North Darfur, warning that hunger is spreading rapidly amid Sudan’s deepening civil war. The declaration signals the country’s descent into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian disasters, with fears that famine could soon extend beyond Sudan’s borders.
In a statement on X, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that recent data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed famine conditions in El-Fasher and Kadugli, South Kordofan. He added that more than 50 million people across Sudan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are suffering from severe food insecurity.
“Famine means we are already too late — people are already dying from hunger,” Tedros warned, calling for an urgent scale-up of food assistance to Sudan and neighbouring regions.
An IPC report released earlier this week verified famine in parts of North Darfur and South Kordofan, estimating that over 21 million Sudanese faced acute food insecurity as of September. The situation, the report added, is expected to persist at least through January 2026, without immediate humanitarian intervention.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following disputes over the country’s political transition. The war has since killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 13 million people, pushing millions to the brink of starvation.
El-Fasher, once the army’s last stronghold in Darfur before falling to RSF control in late October, now faces catastrophic food shortages and violence. Local and international organisations have reported massacres of civilians, looting of aid convoys, and widespread displacement.
The RSF now controls all five states of Darfur, apart from small army-held areas in the north. According to the Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees, new waves of civilians arrived on Tuesday in Tawila, west of El-Fasher, reporting hunger, thirst, and assaults by RSF fighters during their escape. The group estimates that around one million displaced people are living in dire conditions in and around Tawila.
The international community has stepped up pressure on both warring parties to halt hostilities. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for decisive action to end the war, warning that the situation has “spiralled out of control” and accusing foreign powers of supplying arms to both sides.
In Washington, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the United States is working with Arab partners to broker a peaceful settlement, though she acknowledged that the situation on the ground remains “extremely complex.”
Sudan’s Defense and Security Council confirmed it had discussed a US proposal for a ceasefire, but insisted that any truce must include the withdrawal of RSF forces from cities. The council also announced a plan to mobilise popular support for the army to continue fighting the RSF.
Meanwhile, a joint force of armed movements allied with the Sudanese army—including the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement—rejected any settlement that “equates the legitimate state with an outlawed militia,” vowing to continue fighting until “complete victory.”
Sudanese Minister of Culture and Information Khalid Ali al-Eisayir said the Sudanese people “stand firmly behind the army” in its war against what he called “mercenaries and terrorists,” referring to the RSF. Defense Minister Hassan Dawood Kabrun echoed this stance, asserting that the army had a “national right” to continue its campaign.
On the battlefield, the RSF claimed on Tuesday that it had shot down a Sudanese Ilyushin military aircraft in West Kordofan. In North Kordofan, the Humanitarian Aid Commissioner reported that more than 4,000 families had fled the town of Bara to El-Obeid after the RSF seized control, with numerous reports of injuries and missing persons during their escape.
As the conflict rages, aid agencies warn that millions in Sudan face imminent starvation unless humanitarian access is restored and hostilities cease. Relief efforts remain severely constrained by insecurity, blocked routes, and attacks on aid convoys.
With famine already confirmed in El-Fasher and South Kordofan, humanitarians say Sudan is now on the verge of a nationwide catastrophe. Without an immediate ceasefire and large-scale international response, they warn, tens of thousands more could perish in the coming months.
