Sudan's envoy to Türkiye says El Fasher civilians face severe food shortages

Sudan's Ambassador to Türkiye, Nadir Yousif Eltayeb, said on Tuesday that Sudan is seeking justice amid the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict in the country, and pointed to severe food shortages facing civilians in El Fasher.

Anadolu Agency reported that Eltayeb spoke at a meeting on Sudan held at the Ankara headquarters of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA). He criticized the international community's approach to the conflict and said government forces had made intensive efforts to break the siege of El Fasher, including more than 200 attempts. "The international community has taken a biased approach to this issue, preventing it from being resolved," he said.

Eltayeb said the city had been under a complete siege for around 30 months. "About 1 million people were surviving on aid delivered by the armed forces by air. People could not access enough food, to the point that they had to eat tree bark," he said, according to Anadolu.

The ambassador alleged that rebel forces in Sudan are supported by foreign countries and argued they would not have been able to advance without external support. He also claimed that armed groups in El Fasher specifically targeted certain tribes. "What happened in El Fasher is genocide," he said. Eltayeb added that the number of people killed in El Fasher and the wider Darfur region remains unknown.

Eltayeb also claimed that, because of pressure from the United Arab Emirates, Sudan cannot submit reports on the massacre to the UN Security Council. He said the UAE supports the armed groups but that, because this has not been proven, the international community cannot act. Anadolu noted that Abu Dhabi has repeatedly denied the allegations. Eltayeb thanked Türkiye for supporting Sudan and said: "We are seeking justice for Sudan," according to the agency.

Anadolu's own account of the timeline differs from the ambassador's figure of around 30 months. The agency said El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan, had been under siege since May 2024. It said the city fell under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Oct. 26, 2025, after around 18 months of fighting. Anadolu described it as the last major city in the Darfur region held by the Sudanese army before the RSF seized control.

Anadolu reported that, according to the UN Human Rights Office, more than 6,000 people were killed in the first three days of attacks after the RSF took the city. It said allegations emerged of killings, forced displacement, torture and sexual violence against civilians, and that the UN warned violence against civilians, including women and children, was continuing, with reports of executions and sexual violence.

The agency reported that around 138,200 people were displaced from El Fasher and surrounding settlements between Oct. 26, 2025 and March 1, 2026. It said the city, which had a population of more than 1 million before the war, is now estimated to have fewer than 70,000 residents, and that access to food and health services remains severely limited.