Zainab Shahzad
Years of civil war have inflicted irreparable damage on Sudan’s social, economic, and human fabric. In this war-torn region, women and children are the most affected groups, facing not only physical dangers but also psychological and social trauma. With homes and community centers destroyed, they have lost the protective environments they once relied on, and children’s basic opportunities for education, play, and development have been severely disrupted.
Hunger, disease, and displacement have made their daily routines uncertain, while incidents of ethnic violence and sexual assault have deeply fractured the social structure.
Violence against women is harming not only their physical health but also having devastating effects on the attitudes and behaviors within families and communities. In such crises, ethnic and sexual violence leaves permanent scars on inter-ethnic relations.
As a result, children are left orphaned, disabled, or severely traumatized at a very young age. The United Nations and other human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that such circumstances create intergenerational trauma, leading to long-term psychological and social difficulties throughout the region.
Meanwhile, the condition of children is no less horrifying. Millions have been deprived of education, suffer from hunger, and are growing up in a war-ravaged environment. They live under constant fear, anxiety, and exposure to violence, severely affecting their mental development.
Their mobility has become restricted, and many have been moved to temporary camps or orphanages where facilities are almost nonexistent. Malnutrition and a lack of healthcare services are increasing child mortality, and those who survive carry psychological scars that will last a lifetime.
These devastating impacts on women and children highlight the severity of the current humanitarian crisis and make clear how profoundly this civil war has destroyed the social structure and the future of generations to come.
This prolonged crisis is tied to cities like El-Fashir, where life was once a symbol of hope and joy, but which is now engulfed in gunpowder and fear. Sudan’s civil war, which since April 2023 has been writing some of the darkest chapters of human history, has once again reached a peak.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) takeover of this historic city in North Darfur has shaken the entire region. More than two thousand bodies, deserted streets, burning buildings, and blood-soaked hospital floors testify to a human tragedy that is jolting the world’s conscience—yet the global response remains muted.
The Sudanese government has demanded strong action against the RSF. According to Information Minister Khalid Al-Ayeser, the militia has sown fear in the hearts of civilians in El-Fashir and the North Kordofan city of Bara, leaving homes deserted and families shattered.
He said this is not merely fighting—it is organized terrorism that has spared neither women nor children, nor even the elderly. The government appeals to global media to expose these atrocities so that the truth is not buried.
According to the Darfur regional government, more than two thousand civilians have been killed in El-Fashir so far, though the actual number may be much higher because the city’s communication system has collapsed.
Reports indicate that RSF fighters killed seven hundred people within just a few hours of entering the city. The most horrifying scene emerged at the Saudi Hospital, where more than 450 patients, injured individuals, and medical staff were indiscriminately shot. Bodies lay piled in hospital rooms, and the cries of children echoed through the halls.
Further reports indicate that more than three hundred people have been abducted—mostly those from financially stable families. Threats of killing are being issued if ransom is not paid. The atmosphere of terror in the city is such that survivors feel as though they have been deceived by fate.
Meanwhile, RSF ally and Tasis Alliance leader Hasb-al-Nabi Mahmoud has denied the massacre allegations, claiming that what occurred was simply a military confrontation. However, his statement has failed to satisfy the international community.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported a dangerous rise in sexual violence against women and girls, as well as mass killings. Darfur’s land is once again burning in the flames of ethnic hatred that consumed millions of lives two decades ago.
World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed deep shock at the deaths of more than 460 patients and attendants in the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El-Fashir. According to the organization, 185 attacks on health facilities have been recorded so far, killing more than 1,200 people and injuring hundreds. The agency has called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan to save human lives.
Adding to the severity of the situation, the World Food Programme (WFP) has reported that Sudan’s Foreign Ministry has ordered two of its senior officials to leave the country. This decision comes at a time when more than 24 million people in the country face severe food insecurity and humanitarian access is already limited. According to the agency, this move directly threatens its operations, which are a lifeline for millions on the brink of famine.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has acknowledged that his forces have withdrawn from El-Fashir, but he has vowed that the blood of the city’s residents will be avenged. His words have fueled fears of an even wider war. Sudan is now divided into eastern and western power centers—the RSF has established its parallel government in Darfur, while the army controls the north, east, and central regions.
Sudan’s tragedy is not merely a struggle for political power—it is a question of humanity’s survival. In a country where more than one million children are at risk of dying from hunger, where hospitals have turned into graveyards, and where people are being killed based on their ethnicity, the silence of the global conscience is itself another crime.
El-Fashir is no longer just a city; it has become a symbol of humanity’s ultimate test. If the world continues to turn a blind eye, the flames of hunger, thirst, and fear burning in Sudan’s camps will eventually reach the collar of all humankind.
