TAWILA, Sudan: Amid the intensifying siege of El-Fasher, Sudan’s last army-held city in Darfur, thousands are fleeing a 70-km treacherous trail to Tawila, littered with the bodies of those who perished from hunger, thirst, and violence.
The Rapid Support Forces have encircled the city since May 2024, launching their deadliest assault yet and trapping 260,000 civilians inside.
Nazer Muhana Ali, 20, and his family escaped after an RSF drone strike killed his father.
Ali drank rainwater to stay alive. For four days, Ali trudged through the scrubland west of El-Fasher, his family at his side, beaten and robbed along the way.
“It was extremely tough because of hunger and thirst,” he said. “We had nothing but ombaz to eat.”
Ombaz, a bitter peanut husk meant for animals, was all that kept them going as they fled Sudan’s last army-held city in Darfur.
El-Fasher has been under siege for more than 500 days. The only escape is a 70-km trail west to Tawila, a path littered with the bodies of those who did not make it.
Another survivor Adel Ismail Ahmed, 24, said he was in Abu Shouk camp, a few kilometers north of El-Fasher, when “a shell fell directly on our house.”
“My brother and I were inside. My hand was broken, and it still has shrapnel in it. My brother was hit in the neck and chest.”
With fighting intensifying, Ahmed decided to flee.
Mohammed Siddig, 28, also fled Abu Shouk after weeks of bombardment and hunger. “The pressure became too much,” he said. “Life was so tough.”
