SOUTH SUDAN: MSF Calls For Urgent Lifting Of El Fasher Siege To Facilitate Aid Delivery

By Deborah Akur Chol, South Sudan

Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has issued a pressing appeal for the immediate cessation of the siege and ongoing atrocities in El Fasher, Sudan. The organization is calling for secure humanitarian access and protection for civilians seeking to escape the violence.

In a press release on Friday, MSF reported that thousands of people have fled to El Fasher after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked and devastated the Zamzam displacement camp. Those who found refuge in the city are now trapped, cut off from essential aid, and live under the constant threat of violence and attacks.

“If roads leading to El Fasher remain blocked, it is crucial to initiate air operations to deliver vital food and medical supplies to the estimated one million individuals who are stranded and facing starvation,” the statement emphasized.

According to MSF, the RSF and allied armed factions overtook the Zamzam camp previously home to approximately 500,000 individuals after months of an intensified siege. By April 16, reports indicated that the camp was largely in ruins and under RSF control.

The majority of those displaced from Zamzam are believed to have sought asylum in El Fasher, where they are currently in dire conditions without access to aid and at risk of further violence.

Between April 12 and 15, MSF teams in Tawila reported an influx of over 25,000 individuals arriving from Zamzam and surrounding regions. These displaced people continue to arrive intermittently, facing extreme dangers during their journeys.

In response to the crisis, MSF has established a health post at the entrance of Tawila, providing water, nutrition, and medical services to newly arrived individuals. Critical cases are referred to a local hospital where MSF has been operating since October 2023.

Eyewitness accounts from those who fled Zamzam paint a horrific picture, with reports of hundreds being killed, as armed fighters conducted door-to-door assaults, shooting civilians and burning their shelters. Tragically, among the casualties were 11 staff members from Relief International, which managed the camp’s last operational clinic after MSF halted its activities in February due to escalating violence.

MSF has fervently urged the RSF and all armed groups to uphold the protection of civilians and facilitate safe passage for those attempting to escape the violence.

The United Nations and various observers have continually warned of the potential for mass killings and ethnic violence in El Fasher and its surrounding camps, which predominantly shelter non-Arab Zaghawa and Fur communities, while RSF fighters are mostly from Arab tribes.