Statement: UN Women calls for urgent protection of women and girls in El Fasher, Sudan
UN Women expresses deep alarm and condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the ongoing attacks against women, girls and civilians in and around El Fasher.
For more than 500 days, women and girls have endured siege, bombardment and deliberate starvation. Reports indicate that close to 300,000 women and girls (half of the 575,000 people) are trapped, surviving on animal feed and leaves, and facing acute hunger and insecurity.
The takeover of El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces marks an escalation from siege to mass atrocity – including killings, rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, and abductions of women and girls.
According to local medical networks, including the Sudan Doctors Union, more than 2,000 civilians have reportedly been killed in recent days – including women and girls. On 30 October, nearly 500 patients and their companions were reportedly killed during attacks on the Saudi Maternity Hospital, where many women had sought safety and medical care. There are also credible reports of attacks on health workers.
Satellite and video evidence indicate burned homes, desecrated bodies, and mass graves, while communications blackouts continue to hinder verification and humanitarian access – preventing life-saving assistance from reaching women and girls in need.
Thousands of women and girls have reportedly fled toward Tawila Locality, which now hosts more than 300,000 women and girls internally displaced persons (over half of the 652,000 IDPs) – nearly 40 percent of all IDPs in North Darfur – where acute shortages of food, shelter, and medical care persist.
UN Women calls on all parties and international actors to act now to:
- Immediately cease all violence and attacks against women, girls and civilians in El Fasher and ensure their protection.
- Guarantee unimpeded, safe and sustained humanitarian access to deliver life-saving assistance to those trapped in the fighting.
- Ensure full protection and safe passage for women and girls seeking to flee the violence.
- Ensure accountability for all atrocities, including the horrific sexual violence experienced by women and girls, in line with international humanitarian and human rights law.
- Increase funding for humanitarian appeals and women-led organizations – which remain perilously under-resourced – to enable life-saving support to reach women and girls in need.
Women are not only victims of this war, they are also agents of peace, resilience and recovery. Their leadership and voices must be at the centre of all humanitarian, peacebuilding and reconstruction efforts to restore peace and dignity in Darfur and across Sudan.
UN Women urges the international community to act with urgency and unity to stop the violence, protect civilians and uphold the rights and dignity of all women and girls in Sudan.
