The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took over control of El Fasher – the capital of the Sudanese state of North Darfur – on October 26 after an 18-month siege that cut off residents from food, medicine and other essential supplies. The city was the last major government stronghold in the Darfur region.
According to to the UN World Food Program (WFP), families who fled the fighting are now spread across five locations around El Fasher, including Tawila, while others have reached further afield areas such as Dabbah in the northern state and even the national capital Khartoum.
Currently, 1,485 tonnes of food and nutrition supplies – enough for approximately 130,000 people – are on their way to Tawila via the Dabbah Crossing, adding to the ongoing relief efforts for those displaced earlier this year.
Renewed fighting in Kordofan
In the meantime, renewed fighting in the Kordofan region is causing further large-scale displacement.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that in South Kordofan alone, more than 1,800 people were displaced on Tuesday, while in North Kordofan almost 40,000 people were displaced between October 25 and November 18.
The war in Sudan broke out in April 2023 following a power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese National Armed Forces (SAF). It quickly degenerated into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, characterized by faminemass displacement and widespread atrocities.
Concerns about human trafficking
Against this background, independent human rights experts alarm raised on Thursday to reports of the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and slavery, and the recruitment of children as fighters, especially since the RSF takeover of El Fasher.
“We are deeply concerned by the alarming reports of human trafficking since the takeover of El Fasher and surrounding areas by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF),” the experts said.
“Women and girls have been kidnapped in RSF-controlled areas, and women, unaccompanied and separated children are at increased risk of sexual violence and exploitation.”
Since the start of the siege of El Fasher in May 2024, more than 470,000 people have been displaced several times from camps such as Shagra, Zamzam and Abu Shouk. Across Sudan, nearly 12 million people – about half of them children – have now been forcibly displaced or fled to neighboring countries, with sexual violence reported in conflict zones across the country.
The experts – who are mandated and appointed by the Geneva-based Council for Human Rights and are not UN staff – cited multiple incidents of rape and sexual abuse near RSF checkpoints and sites hosting displaced persons, including the reported gang rape of 25 women near El Fasher University.
They urged all parties to immediately stop violations against civilians and called on Member States to take urgent action following the recent special session of the Human Rights Council on the situation in and around El Fasher.
UN envoy to urge dialogue
Meanwhile, the UN Secretary General Personal Envoy to SudanRamtane Lamamra is preparing to travel to Port Sudan and Addis Ababa next week to push for renewed political dialogue. He is expected to focus on the urgent need for civil protection and unhindered humanitarian access in Darfur and Kordofan.
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