Key points: The IOM warns that relief operations in North Darfur risk collapse without urgent funding and safe access as warehouses run nearly empty and convoys face deadly insecurity. Nearly 90,000 people fled el-Fasher and tens of thousands are crowded into under-resourced camps near Tawila, where child malnutrition rates are alarmingly high. The 2023 conflict between Sudan's army and the RSF has killed thousands, displaced millions, and prompted intensified international efforts to secure a humanitarian truce.
UN: North Darfur Relief Operations Risk Collapse as Aid Runs Out
Key points: The IOM warns that relief operations in North Darfur risk collapse without urgent funding and safe access as warehouses run nearly empty and convoys face deadly insecurity. Nearly 90,000 people fled el-Fasher and tens of thousands are crowded into under-resourced camps near Tawila, where child malnutrition rates are alarmingly high. The 2023 conflict between Sudan's army and the RSF has killed thousands, displaced millions, and prompted intensified international efforts to secure a humanitarian truce.
03:47 AM, 11/12/2025Conflict
UN agency warns North Darfur relief operations are on the brink
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned Tuesday that humanitarian operations in Sudan's North Darfur region could collapse unless urgent funding and safe access for aid deliveries are secured. The agency said warehouses are nearly empty, aid convoys face severe insecurity, and access restrictions continue to prevent life-saving assistance from reaching those who need it most.
“Despite the rising need, humanitarian operations are now on the brink of collapse,” IOM said in a statement, adding that an “even greater catastrophe” is possible if appeals for support go unanswered. IOM Director General Amy Pope, who is in Sudan, said: “Our teams are responding, but insecurity and depleted supplies mean we are only reaching a fraction of those in need.”
U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher arrived in Port Sudan to meet national authorities, humanitarian partners and diplomats, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said. The IOM and other agencies have reported mounting needs after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured North Darfur's capital, el-Fasher.
Displacement, hunger and health risks
The RSF takeover of el-Fasher left hundreds dead and forced tens of thousands to flee, according to aid groups and U.N. officials. The IOM estimated nearly 90,000 people fled el-Fasher and surrounding villages, often traveling along dangerous routes with little or no access to food, water, shelter or medical care.
Tens of thousands of displaced people have arrived at overcrowded camps around Tawila, roughly 70 kilometers (43 miles) from el-Fasher. Camp residents describe barren sites with too few tents, limited community kitchen rations and insufficient water, sanitation and medical services.
“We only get lunch meals. We also need a nearby source of water and toilets. Disposing of our waste in the open can make us sick and cause diseases like cholera,”
— Sohaiba Omar, shelter resident, Diba Nayra camp
Volunteers and aid workers say demand far exceeds supplies. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) warned that malnutrition rates in displacement sites are “staggering,” reporting that more than 70% of children under five arriving in Tawila between the fall of el-Fasher and Nov. 3 were acutely malnourished, and over a third suffered severe acute malnutrition.
Wider conflict and humanitarian toll
The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, which began in 2023 after a split between former allies, has spread beyond North Darfur to Western Darfur and Kordofan. The IOM reported nearly 39,000 people fled North Kordofan between Oct. 26 and Nov. 9. The World Health Organization estimates at least 40,000 people have died and some 12 million have been displaced, though aid groups warn the true toll may be much higher.
U.N. agencies say the security environment remains volatile: while large-scale clashes have eased in some areas, sporadic fighting and drone activity continue and civilians face risks of looting, forced recruitment and gender-based violence.
Diplomacy and the push for a truce
International diplomacy has intensified. Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met with army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan in Port Sudan as part of broader efforts to secure a humanitarian truce. Abdelatty reiterated Egypt's support for Sudan's national institutions and urged implementation of a peace plan proposed by a quartet of countries — the U.S., Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — which envisions a three-month humanitarian ceasefire followed by a nine-month political process.
The RSF has said it agreed to the quartet's humanitarian truce; the army has signaled it will consider the proposal only if the RSF withdraws from civilian areas and relinquishes heavy weapons.
What’s needed: Humanitarian agencies call for immediate financing, secure humanitarian access, and a rapid scale-up of supplies — food, water, shelter, medical care and nutrition support — to prevent further loss of life and a deepening crisis across Darfur and beyond.
Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations.