An estimated 200,000 civilians have vanished in El Fasher, Sudan, after fleeing the besieged city but failing to reach safety. Their disappearance underscores the catastrophic collapse of international efforts and the dire humanitarian crisis gripping the region.
Only a few thousand people have managed to reach humanitarian reception centers, including those operated by the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The whereabouts and survival of the vast majority remain unknown—a failure that should shake the conscience of the world.
This is not a theoretical concern. Testimonies gathered by IRC staff—1,000 across the country—reveal harrowing scenes: bodies scattered along escape routes, children separated from parents, and targeted attacks on civilians. Humanitarian workers confirm the worst, noting the arrival of unaccompanied, traumatized, and starving children. With safe routes blocked, it is feared many were killed or captured. The IRC, alongside its partners, is doing all it can to assist those who escape, but the urgent question remains: what happened to those who did not make it?
Nearly 20 years after Darfur was the center of one of the 21st century’s most devastating humanitarian crises, the region is once again consumed by violence. Conflict reignited across Sudan in April 2023, displacing over 12 million people and plunging the country into chaos. Today, the world risks another chapter of horror as violence engulfs El Fasher.
El Fasher represents more than just a humanitarian emergency; it signifies the broader collapse of international diplomacy in the post-WWII era. Sudan embodies what the IRC calls the “new world disorder”—a conflict fueled by a growing cast of regional and global rivals, driven by transactional diplomacy and economic greed, and sustained by impunity. Humanitarian norms are trampled, and civilians pay the price.
Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are fighting not just for territory, but for economic resources that provide both revenue and leverage. The conflict is being funded, directly or indirectly, by outside powers seeking to advance their own influence. As rival governments emerge and the country fragments, access to aid has been weaponized, and humanitarian workers are killed with impunity. Sudan has become a place where civilians are hunted, not helped.
Famine is rapidly taking hold. Latest data confirms catastrophic hunger levels across Darfur, with nearly 400,000 people facing starvation, as defined by Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s Phase 5 threshold. An additional 6.3 million people are at emergency hunger levels (Phase 4), and many of those fleeing El Fasher are already arriving malnourished. Unaccompanied children are among the most vulnerable, and thousands have been separated from their families. Despite this, the international response remains fragmented and dangerously slow.
The Security Council passed Resolution 2736 last year, calling for an immediate halt to fighting and full, rapid, and safe humanitarian access. But those demands remain unfulfilled. Diplomatic words have not translated into safety, a failure tragically underscored by the 200,000 missing people from El Fasher.
We cannot wait for diplomatic consensus while people starve or die. Urgent steps must be taken now to address the crisis in Sudan. These steps include:
- Safe Passage: Civilians must be allowed to flee El Fasher without fear of attack, extortion, or forced recruitment. This is a basic requirement of international law and the most immediate need on the ground.
- Full-Scale Humanitarian Response: This requires unimpeded access to those in need, wherever they are, including by empowering local responders and ensuring the UN has the mandate and resources to scale up its presence. The humanitarian appeal for Sudan is currently less than 30% funded.
- Sustained Diplomatic Pressure: The U.S., working with the Quad (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE), has made progress. A proposed three-month humanitarian truce followed by a credible nine-month political process is a necessary lifeline. But such a plan cannot succeed unless civilians are protected now, and access is no longer used as a bargaining chip.
- Stop the Flow of Arms: Too many regional actors are fueling this war by supplying weapons to both sides. At a minimum, the Quad should initiate a conversation about arms flows and use its influence to reduce the incentives for continued violence. Behind every disappearing family in El Fasher is a supply chain that makes such atrocities possible.
The crisis in Sudan will reverberate far beyond its borders. Displacement is spilling over into Chad, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. Food insecurity will rise across the region. And the danger is that the signal to armed actors globally will be clear: you can kill civilians with impunity if the world isn’t watching.
But the world is watching. We see children arriving in Tawila without their mothers. We hear from IRC staff risking their lives to deliver aid. We read the names of towns where atrocities have taken place before. And we know what happens when we look away.
Sudan is a test: of our humanitarian values, and of our diplomatic resolve. Every hour counts. The lives of hundreds of thousands hang in the balance. We must not fail them—again.
