Displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), arrive in the town of Tawila in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on 28 October, 2025. Photo: AFP
Nearly 100,000 people have now fled Sudan's El Fasher, after the city in the Darfur region was taken over by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the country's ongoing civil war, which has been raging for two-and-a-half years.
Sudan is facing one of the world's most significant humanitarian crises, with 14 million people displaced.
World Vision's Sudan operations director Inos Mugabe describes the situation, particularly in El Fasher, as catastrophic.
"We have witnessed intensified fighting that's forced a large number of families to flee, and for many of them it's not the first time.''
He said as they fled, they also faced extreme challenges.
"Most of the people who are leaving leave with very little, particularly only the clothes that they are wearing, and many children are also separated from their families in the chaos.''
He said most people fleeing go to the neighbouring town of Tawila, but the situation there was also bad.
"There's no water, there's no food assistance. there's no sanitation. Basically, services are non-existent."
World Vision's Sudan operations director Inos Mugabe. Photo: Supplied
He said their needs were huge, but there was not adequate funding available.
"Unfortunately, we are going to be seeing more lives lost."
Mugabe said most girls and boys were not attending school.
"For girls… they don't continue school and obviously end up getting married early in their life. Then if its boys, they end up in military conscription and are accommodated into the various militia groups that are spouting up around the country."
He said children and their families escaping the siege at El Fasher were in need of immediate support.
"They look weary and severely malnourished. Their bodies are failing, and without urgent, large-scale intervention, we will lose them.
"We are receiving the most vulnerable people imaginable, but the resources we have are completely inadequate to sustain them. The world must understand the gravity of this situation and act before it is too late."
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