Sudan: Carnage in Al Fasher must end

“The horror unfolding in Al Fasher is beyond words. The Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) assault on civilians and the terror inflicted on families trying to flee are indefensible. Civilians are being shelled, hospitals have been hit, and aid workers and local volunteers are being targeted. Families fleeing the city describe running through gunfire and armed checkpoints, facing extortion, harassment and fear at every turn. No one is spared. Many of our Sudanese colleagues are grieving the loss of loved ones. This carnage has to stop.

“Tens of thousands of civilians are believed to have fled Al Fasher, but only just over 5,000 people have reportedly reached Tawila. We fear that many civilians have been detained, disappeared, or killed as they fled to safety. Those who make it arrive exhausted, starved, injured and traumatised. People report facing armed checkpoints, extortion, arbitrary arrests, detention, looting, sexual violence and harassment along the way.

“Our NRC teams are working day and night with local responders to deliver lifesaving aid, but this is far from enough. World leaders must urgently act to demand the release and safe passage of those detained and to protect civilians still trapped or missing.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing assault on civilians, humanitarian workers, and civilian infrastructure. There must be an immediate cessation of hostilities in and around Al Fasher, and all parties must guarantee safe movement for civilians as well as access for humanitarian aid.”

Notes to editors:

• Photos and b-roll footage from Tawila, Sudan, collected earlier this year, are available for free use here. 
• More than nine million people have been uprooted within Sudan, and over four million forced to flee into neighbouring countries, including Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Libya and Uganda (OCHA). 
• Over 30 million people in Sudan - more than half the population of Sudan – need humanitarian assistance (OCHA). 
• An estimated 25 million people are in acute need of food, including over 600,000 on the edge of famine (OCHA). 
• NRC has 78 local and national partners. 
• Since April, more than half a million people have fled Al Fasher and nearby towns to Tawila, where NRC has reached 380,000 people in the past six months. In the past two days, NRC registered 651 families (around 3,000 people) at the reception centre, where local responders run 10 community kitchens. NRC is helping arrange temporary housing, register families for cash aid, and distribute hygiene kits, with psychosocial support for children starting soon. 
• In 2025, humanitarian actors are seeking $4.16 billion to reach 20.9 million people in Sudan. As of 28 October, only 27.3 percent of this had been funded (OCHA). 
• The Regional Refugee Response Plan for 2025 requires $1.18 billion to cover the assistance for 5 million refugees, returnees, third country nationals and host communities in seven neighbouring countries (UNHCR). As of October 2025, only 21% of the funding has been pledged. Last year, only 31% of the $1.5 billion refugee plan had been funded, $91 million by the US alone (Refugee Funding Tracker). 

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

• NRC global media hotline: media@nrc.no, +47 905 62 329