The Over two-year conflict in Sudan remains one of the most pressing disasters globally. Numerous reports indicate serious human rights violations since the outbreak of war on April 15, 2023, resulting in massive internal and external displacements.
On October 31, 2025, UN agencies and human rights organisations reported horrific acts in El Fasher, Sudan, including summary executions, mass killings, sexual assaults, assaults on aid workers, looting, abductions, and forced displacements.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) stated that over 36,000 individuals escaped their homes on foot towards Tawila, situated west of El Fasher, adding to the displaced population of more than 652,000 individuals there.
The IPC Famine Review Committee (FRC) has now confirmed that famine conditions are currently present in Sudan due to the humanitarian crisis worsened by violent clashes in El Fasher, Northern Darfur, and the besieged town of Kadugli in South Kordofan.
Dr Halima Begum, CEO of Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, Great Britain (Oxfam GB), stated that the overlooked conflict in Sudan has spilt into neighbouring countries such as Chad and South Sudan, which are now hosting Sudanese refugees.
“A tragedy has unfolded in plain sight, and the situation is only deteriorating, not only in Sudan itself but also in neighbouring Chad and South Sudan, where millions have fled to,” Begum explained.
Funding cuts raise stakes
The conflict has placed many Sudanese refugees living in South Sudan in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The crisis is further exacerbated by cuts in donor funding, a global humanitarian crisis and other government priorities, leaving families without necessities.
On January 20, 2025, the US President Donald Trump suspended funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), crippling numerous services around the world, including refugee camps in Maban County, in South Sudan's Upper Nile State.
For example, the Early Childhood Development (ECD) program was shut down, leaving many children without educational opportunities. Over 5,000 children from the 11 ECD facilities in Batil Refugee Camp within Maban County, Upper Nile State, are now out of school.
Adam Hamad, a head teacher at Batil Refugee Camp, mentions that many children are now at risk due to idleness, leading to accidents.
“The ECD is now closed. These children, when they were in school, were safe, but right now, some of them are just climbing trees. Some of them are falling from the trees because they used to climb on the trees,” Hamad explained.
The most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) indicates that 2.3 million children face the threat of malnutrition in South Sudan, an increase from 2.1 million in 2024.
Hamad also noted that food scarcity impacts school attendance and enrollment, especially for younger students.
“Lack of food is affecting the children because when they bring the food to school, the attendance will be good, and when it ends before it completes a month, kids who are in p1, p2, some of them will not come to school when there is no food in the school,” he stated.
Communism saves lives
Refugees in Maban refugee camps have turned to communism to support families struggling to feed themselves after going for more than a year without any food assistance.
“They stopped this issue of food last year in September. They were only supporting vulnerable families, especially the elderly in the community,” Hamad states.
Azebir Jabuk, a 27-year-old father of two residing in Batil refugee camp, mentions that non-governmental organisations in Maban are struggling due to a lack of funding to supply food assistance for all families.
He says many vulnerable families have resorted to eating wild fruits and tree leaves in a struggle to survive.
“Some people are operating small businesses, and some people have cattle, but also due to these months without food, they sold out many of their cattle to survive. And those who don’t have it completely these days are eating leaves of trees. The tree, which is called Lalob,” Jabuk explains.
Hope currently lies in sharing the limited food that refugees have, while those without relatives engage in casual labour for payment to support their families.
“If you have your relative and you have something to eat, you cannot let them stay like that; they sometimes divide and share with their neighbours,” he adds.
Desperate return to Sudan
Jabuk notes that some families have returned to Sudan in desperation, while those remaining have made efforts to cultivate crops, and warns that irregular rainfall patterns lead to poor harvests.
Mohamed Damuk, a refugee formerly from Kaya Refugee Camp in Maban, states he felt compelled to return to Sudan due to insecurity in Maban Camps.
“Now I am in Blue Nile State. There was no stable security in the camp which is why I left the camp. Not because of food, the host community was shooting guns within the camp at night,” he clarifies.
Damuk mentions that many Sudanese refugees are facing starvation on their desperate journey back to Sudan.
“Services are running well, but many people are dying due to challenges they face on the way from Renk to Sudan. Some of them spend around four weeks sitting in Joda north, no food, no car for them to take them to their original places,” he elaborates.
Resolution of the conflict
The United Nations has declared that Sudan is the site of the largest humanitarian and displacement crisis worldwide. It estimates that around 14 million people have been displaced out of a total population of 51 million, while they also wrestle with famine and outbreaks of diseases like cholera.
On October 29, 2025, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ Rapporteur for Sudan, Hatem Essaiem, expressed concerns regarding the El Fasher Incident.
On October 21, 2025, during its 85th Ordinary Session, the commission released findings and recommendations from its Fact-Finding Mission (PFM) on Sudan.
The regional body urged the implementation of recommendations, including the establishment of an independent accountability mechanism, unhindered humanitarian access, and enhanced protection of civilians, particularly women, children, and persons with disabilities.
The commission condemned the atrocities that occurred in El Fasher and called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, the establishment of humanitarian corridors, and accountability for those responsible.
