More than 100 civil society and humanitarian organisations, including Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), are urging the international community to secure safe, voluntary, and dignified passage for civilians trapped in El Fasher, Sudan's North Darfur.
Around 260,000 people, including 130,000 children, have been besieged for 17 months by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A recent Yale Humanitarian Research Lab report revealed that the RSF has erected walls around the city to control movement. Men and boys attempting to leave face particular danger, with reports of killings on exit routes.
El Fasher remains the last major city not under RSF control and has become the centre of conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). In April 2025, the RSF seized the Abu Souk and Zamzam displacement camps, which shelter more than 700,000 people, and turned them into military bases.
Churches have repeatedly been struck. Between May and September, the Sudan Episcopal Church was shelled six times. The most recent attack killed two people sheltering inside and left several missing. Sources say RSF fighters have since occupied local Pentecostal and Episcopal churches, using them for snipers and military operations.
Religious sites are not the only targets. On 19 September, an RSF assault on a mosque near Abu Souk Camp killed at least 70 people.
The UN’s human rights office has warned that there are no safe routes out of the city, leaving civilians with a stark choice: stay and risk bombardment, starvation, and atrocities, or flee and face execution, sexual violence, or abduction.
CSW founder Mervyn Thomas condemned the attacks on civilians and places of worship: “We call for urgent action to ensure safe passage for civilians. The reported use of religious establishments for military purposes violates international law. The international community must press for an immediate nationwide ceasefire.”
Adapted from CSW.
