Sudanese Flee Al-Fashir Amid Siege, Hunger, and Humiliation

Escape from Al-Fashir

• ✈️ Survivors describe dangerous and costly escapes from the besieged city of Al-Fashir, where constant shelling and negotiating violence at checkpoints are commonplace.
• 💰 The journey out of the city is prohibitively expensive, with one family paying approximately $1,600 for their escape, highlighting the severe economic hardship.
• 🚶‍♀️ Many are forced to stay due to the cost of travel, with some walking long distances on foot, underscoring the difficulty of reaching safety.

Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan

• 🌍 The United Nations has declared the 2.5-year war in Sudan as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
• 🍲 Inside Al-Fashir, residents have resorted to eating animal feed as prices for even basic necessities have soared.

RSF Actions and Allegations

• 🚨 Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have tightened their siege around Al-Fashir, the last holdout of the Sudanese army in the Darfur region.
• 💸 Evacuations and smuggling of food have become a side business for RSF members, indicating exploitation of the crisis.
• ⚖️ A UN mission found that the RSF has committed crimes against humanity in El Fasher, in addition to other atrocities by both the RSF and the Sudanese army.
• 📱 Survivors recount aggressive searches and robberies by RSF soldiers, including the confiscation of personal belongings like phones.

Geopolitical Context

• 🎯 Al-Fashir has become the main front line as the RSF seeks to solidify its hold on Darfur, a region designated as the base for a parallel government.
• 🏛️ Leaders of this parallel government were sworn in last month and have begun appointing ministers.