Adré Children’s Feeding Program and Clinic Update - November 2024

Program Background

Shortly after war began in Sudan in April 2023, Darfur became ground zero for some of the worst atrocities committed in modern history. The national army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) battle against each other for control of Sudan morphed into the largely Arab RSF launching a hate-driven assault on Darfur’s historic ethnic African groups, such as the Zaghawa, Fur, and Masalit.

Map by Operation Broken Silence.

Between April and June of 2023 alone, the RSF and their allied Arab militias committed a highly organized genocide of up to 15,000 Masalit people in El Geneina, West Darfur. The brutal paramilitary force followed up this extermination with a shock offensive across Darfur in October, seizing all but one state capital and driving most army forces out of the region.

One of our private Sudanese partners assisted persecuted ethnic groups fleeing RSF war crimes during this period. They helped nearly 2,000 refugees escape the Central, South, and East provinces and cross into South Sudan. This lifesaving work ended in November 2023 when the RSF completed its occupation of most all of Darfur. We are proud of the brave team who worked around the clock at great personal risk to help some of the most vulnerable escape.

Since then, several areas of Darfur have descended into famine. Refugees coming into Chad —often with dangerously thin arms and thousand-yard stares— bring stories of witnessing extreme violence and loved ones dying of starvation. Darfur under RSF occupation has become a human rights and humanitarian nightmare. The ethnic cleansing of historic African tribes is ongoing. Rape and sexual violence are widespread. Unhinged RSF units are running out of markets, banks, farms, and storehouses to plunder.

Operation Broken Silence is now helping to provide emergency food and medical support for some of the most at-risk Darfur displaced and refugee communities. We are supporting key indigenous leaders in two areas:

1. Adré Refugee Camps in eastern Chad

2. Zamzam Displacement Camp near El Fasher, North Darfur.

We have some important updates from our partners in Adré below, as well as a brief overview of current conditions in the camps.

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An Update From Dr. Douda

Many survivors of the Darfur genocide have made their way into Chad, the country which neighbors the western Darfur region (see our map, above). Sudanese doctor Abdelillah Douda, who is helping to oversee a small clinic and children’s feeding program in Adré, visited both at the end of October. Here is his report:

Much darkness and misery is experienced by Sudanese refugees who have fled into eastern Chad, especially in the huge Al-Malik camp adjacent to Adré. But refugees began helping their friends and families after the trouble and hardship of fleeing the hell of war in Darfur. This was the spark that lit the way for the magnificent work now being doing the For You children’s feeding center and clinic in Adré.

Photo: At the children’s feeding center in Adré.

Due to the poor healthcare in the camp, which is inhabited by a quarter of a million people —mostly women and children— a group of doctors, nurses, workers and administrators from Darfur have established a small clinic to provide medical services to the most needy. With modest financial assistance, these people were able to do a qualitative humanitarian work in the field of providing physical and psychological treatment to residents. In a short period of time, the clinic has become a treasured destination for patients due to the distinguished services it provides and the good treatment that patients receive from its volunteer workers.

To tell you the truth, when I visited this camp between October 26-31, 2024, we were amazed by this work. Coupled to the feeding center the clinic is fast becoming a small hospital. It consists of two rooms for administrators, two clinics for examination, a clinic for a specialist, a fully integrated examination laboratory, an ultrasound room, temporary wards for holding patients for a short period, a small mental health department, and a large pharmacy to provide free medicine to patients. 35 individuals now work here, including doctors, nurses, and other medical workers. They receive between 150-200 patients daily, and the feeding center receives between 600-700 children for breakfast every day. The clinic staff work from 7AM-5PM.

We met many patients during this visit, and they expressed their gratitude and thanks to everyone who contributed and worked to establish and maintain the clinic and feeding center. They wished that such work would be generalized in all the camps in eastern Chad. Some of the chronically ill patients who are being treated told me that if it weren’t for the children’s feeding center and clinic, many would have died from a lack of treatment.

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Current conditions in the Adré camps

As of mid-November, an abysmal 29% of the $630.2 million the United Nations needs for Sudanese refugees in Chad in 2024 has been funded, and the year is almost over. This means that the international humanitarian response in the Adré camps continues to be severely limited, making the clinic and feeding center all the more important.

Well over 700,000 refugees have now fled into eastern Chad. The country has received more Sudanese this year than the previous 20 years combined. It’s estimated roughly 250,000 of the refugees are in the Adré area. While it is much safer here than RSF-controlled areas of Darfur, many of the refugees understandably feel vulnerable. RSF fighters are periodically spotted in eastern Chad, and some refugees have reported receiving death threats from the paramilitaries. Adré sits just a few miles inside Chad’s porous border with Sudan and, while the Chadian government has troops forward-deployed to provide protection, RSF fighters can still easily slip into the country.

Hunger is common in Adré, as are preventable diseases due to the lack of adequate clean water, latrines, and medicines. With the area now overwhelmed and tensions running high, authorities in Chad are pre-registering newly arriving Sudanese refugees at the border and relocating them to Dougui, which is further west. Recent air strikes in El Fasher, North Darfur and extreme famine and targeted RSF violence in West Darfur are still pushing more refugees into Chad, usually with intense medical and nutritional needs.

The clinic and feeding program need at least $8,500 per month to operate at current levels, and they can expand these services to meet more needs when more funding becomes available. Please consider joining us in helping these brave heroes serve their persecuted people.

Photo: Work at the clinic in Adré.

These heroes need your help

These refugee leaders are a small bulwark against spreading famine and disease. With the international community doing so little to fight this crisis, directly funding their efforts are all the more critical to fend off the most dire outcomes. Your one-time or monthly gift can save lives today and help them prepare for what lies ahead.

• $8,500: fully fund the clinic and feeding program for an entire month!

• $4,000: cover the children's feeding program for one month

• $1,000: provide one week of all basic medicines needed

• $500: feed 500 hungry children for one week

• $250: help expand the children's feed program

• $100: deliver nutritional supplements that help fight malnutrition

• $50: deliver anti-malarial, typhus and other speciality medications

Join Miles For Sudan | Donate Stock or Crypto

Make checks payable to Operation Broken Silence with Adré in the memo line and mail to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

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Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.

• Share Our Posts: Instagram | Threads | Facebook | LinkedIn | Reddit

• Adré was once a quiet town perched on the border between Chad and Sudan. It is now the main hub for people escaping a genocide and famine that has given way to the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/adre-childrens-feeding-program-and-clinic-update-november-2024

• It’s not in the news, but the world’s largest humanitarian emergency is unfolding in Sudan. Learn more and help: https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/adre-childrens-feeding-program-and-clinic-update-november-2024

• The international humanitarian response in the Sudanese refugee camps at Adré continues to be severely underfunded, making this special clinic and feeding center all the more important. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/adre-childrens-feeding-program-and-clinic-update-november-2024

• Well over 700,000 refugees have now fled into eastern Chad. The country has received more Sudanese this year than the previous 20 years combined. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/adre-childrens-feeding-program-and-clinic-update-november-2024

Preparing for the 2024 Giving Season

This year in Sudan has been both challenging and inspiring. While the war has brought unprecedented suffering, we've also witnessed firsthand the incredible resilience, courage, and compassion of our Sudanese partners. Thank you for standing with them this year.

We’ll be sharing recent program updates and our outlook for 2025 soon. In the meantime, you can find key days and deadlines for the 2024 Giving Season below. Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your gift is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law, and it can make a real difference.

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The 2024 Giving Season

November 11: Year-End Giving Begins

We encourage you to give early to avoid missing a deadline. This provides you more ease of mind and lightens the burden on us. If one of the reasons you are donating is for a tax deduction, now is the time to talk to your financial advisor.

December 3: Giving Tuesday

The global day of generosity is the perfect day to give!

December 30: Soft Deadline

Donor-advised funds, brokers, and exchanges need time to execute gifts, and checks must be dated and postmarked by December 31. We strongly advise you to donate no later than Monday, December 30 if you are giving by:

• Mailing a check

• Donor-advised fund (DAF)

• Investment portfolio

• Crypto wallet

December 31: Final Day To Give

• Online gifts by debit or credit card must be submitted by 11:30PM.

• Checks should be dropped in the mail by 5PM.

• Stock gifts should be submitted at market open.

• Crypto donations should be made as early as possible.

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Give Now

Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Our EIN is 80-0671198.

Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

Please note that gifts of stock and cryptocurrency are non-refundable.

With your generous support, we can help our Sudanese partners continue saving and change lives for the better. Thank you for being a part of our movement this year. Talk to you soon.

Onward,

Mark C. Hackett

Executive Director, obsilence.org

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• This nonprofit is near and dear to me. If you have a moment I encourage you to check out their website and pitch in whatever you can: https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/preparing-for-the-2024-giving-season

• I just made my last donation of the year to Operation Broken Silence, one of the few nonprofits still working in Sudan. Will you join me? https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/preparing-for-the-2024-giving-season

• Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/preparing-for-the-2024-giving-season

The 15th annual Eden’s Run 5K

On October 26, 2024 some of our supporters came together in Memphis, TN to celebrate fifteen years of Eden’s Run 5K, our annual run and walk helping to bring education to Sudan's next generation of leaders.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather. With your help we made it to 74% of our $7,500 goal! A big thank you to all of our runners for giving and fundraising, as well as our board members, volunteers, and Memphis Runners Track Club for coming together to make race day possible.

Eden’s Run was made possible by our generous sponsors:

• Hyperfocus Running Club

• Karen Adams

• Hive Bagel & Deli

• Siskind Susser Immigration Lawyers

• Monogram Foods

• Fleet Feet Memphis

• The Clandestine Underground

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Miss Eden’s Run? Join our virtual Miles For Sudan event!

Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For over a decade, we've allied people just like you with incredible Sudanese heroes who are bring emergency aid, education and healthcare to their people. And they need us now more than ever.

Miles For Sudan is a new global event for runners, walkers, and cyclists who want to help Sudanese heroes save lives. All you have to do is sign up and then ask friends and family to give through your fundraising page after each workout. And the best part? You can participate from wherever you call home.

Not ready to participate in Miles For Sudan? Make a one-time donation or start a small monthly gift! Here are a few ways your generosity can help:

$200- provides a teacher's salary for one month.

$150- helps deliver new chalkboards and repair classrooms.

$100- provides pencils, notebooks, and other basic school supplies.

$50- gives the gift of sport by providing nets, balls, and more.

Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900. You can also donate stock or crypto.

Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

Hundreds feared dead in Sudan after paramilitary rampage, suicides reported in aftermath

The latest war crimes in Sudan have torn through an area south of Khartoum, where the Rapid Support Forces recently went on a multi-day killing and raping spree through nearly 60 defenseless towns and villages.

•••••

18 months of war between the national army and a genocidal militia called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has all but destroyed Sudan. The country has been ground zero for the largest humanitarian and displacement crises in the world for months, an urgent reality not reflected in the international press. Khartoum already lies in ruins, as do countless other towns and villages. Multiple regions have descended into famine and there is still no end in sight.

Annual rains in Sudan reduced fighting the past few months due to flooding and washed out roads. The rainy season came to an end a few weeks ago, but a new surge in heavy combat broke out well before then as the army and RSF launched new offensives early. As has been the case throughout this war, an uptick in armed conflict is giving way to a surge in targeted war crimes.

Map: Location of Gezira area. (Operation Broken Silence)

On October 20, the RSF began blocking access to roughly 30 communities in northern and eastern Gezira province, just south of Khartoum. Main roads were sealed off and communication channels, including privately-owned Starlink terminals, were seized to try to trap residents and prevent them from getting word out.

Over the next four days, RSF fighters marched through towns and villages in northern and eastern Gezira. They fired live ammunition at civilians indiscriminately while executing others. The paramilitaries looted property and plundered markets. Then they began sexually assaulting women and girls.

Throughout the brazen assault the RSF expanded into more towns and villages. Nearly 60 have now been attacked. Over 119,000 people have fled Gezira in the past several days.

Right now, the heaviest blow seems to have fallen on El Sariha village, where more than 120 people are reported to have been murdered by the RSF. Roughly 200 residents have been wounded. Over 150 more are missing and presumably being detained and tortured by the RSF. High civilian casualties are being reported in the villages of Rufaa and Tamboul as well.

Getting information out has proven to be difficult due to the near complete communications black out. Survivors escaping the RSF blockade bring with them terrifying stories of executions, rape, and having to flee in the dead of night to avoid being hunted down by RSF fighters. Other eyewitnesses report seeing RSF soldiers beating civilians.

These stories align with the minimal footage and photos that have appeared on social media, including some posted by RSF fighters, who look to be proud of their atrocities. One video we reviewed showed a paramilitary dragging an elderly man by his beard and humiliating him as other soldiers watch and cheer. Others show bodies covered for burial, people fleeing their villages, and the RSF rounding up civilians at gunpoint as small arms fire is heard in the background.

Sexual assault seems to be a central feature of this RSF rampage. Fathers and brothers were killed for trying to prevent RSF soldiers from raping their female family members. Survivors have said the RSF is abducting women and girls, and reports are emerging that an unknown number of women in Gezira have committed suicide instead of waiting to be raped by the RSF.

Understanding these war crimes

The RSF has a well-documented history of rampaging against ordinary Sudanese after battlefield losses. The paramilitary force is built in a way that units are undisciplined on their own, but easy for commanders to take strong control of during major operations. Top RSF commanders often use this dynamic to deny knowledge of their war crimes, even when there is evidence commanders planned and executed a genocide.

With these facts in mind, the trigger for RSF war crimes in Gezira appears to be two-fold.

First, in September, the army launched a major offensive in and around Khartoum, reclaiming large swaths of Bahri (Khartoum North) and gaining a new foothold in Khartoum proper. We covered this in our last monthly newsletter. Army forces also seized control of the strategic Jebel Moya area in Gezira and areas in nearby Sinnar province a few weeks ago, driving out RSF fighters as they advance.

Second, Abu Keikel —a major RSF commander and the de facto ruler of Gezira— recently defected to the army. RSF fighters began attacking villages and towns in Gezira seen as “loyal” to Keikel shortly after. That’s RSF code for targeting just about anyone who is the same ethnicity as Keikel is. Many RSF fighters adhere to an extremely racist, Arab-supremacist ideology that says African tribal groups must be cleansed from Sudan and that all other Sudanese Arabs are inferior.

Gezira has been largely quiet for months despite the RSF occupation and, with RSF forces facing intensifying pressure from the army and losing a top commander, the paramilitaries are now taking their rage out on civilians along ethnic lines as part of their predictable pattern. RSF social media influencers (yes, that’s a thing) are even claiming that the villagers were plotting with the army to rise up against the RSF as the real pretext for these atrocities. While the army’s intelligence branch has smuggled weapons to a handful of villages in Gezira, there is no evidence that armed clashes broke out between the RSF and villagers before the rampage began

These crimes are yet another grim reminder that the Sudanese people will never be safe and prosperous as long as the RSF exists. Even if top commanders wanted to reform their paramilitary outfit, they are incapable of doing so and always will be. Sudan’s national army are no angels; indeed, that force is likely beyond reform as well. But the RSF always has been and always will be a terrorist organization, one that has reach beyond Sudan’s borders and can only survive by plundering the Sudanese state, private property, and the country’s natural resources. It is unhelpful and dangerous to understand the RSF as anything else besides the cancer it is.

Our Sudanese partners need your help

Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For over a decade, we've allied people just like you with incredible Sudanese heroes who are bring emergency aid, education and healthcare to their people. And they need us now more than ever.

Miles For Sudan is a new global event for runners, walkers, and cyclists who want to help Sudanese heroes save lives. All you have to do is sign up and then ask friends and family to give through your fundraising page after each workout. And the best part? You can participate from wherever you call home.

Not ready to participate in Miles For Sudan? Make a quick one-time donation or set up a small monthly gift instead. Here are a few ways your generosity can help:

$1,000 - Fully funds one classroom at Endure Primary School in Yida Refugee Camp for half a semester.

$500 - Delivers food to Darfuri genocide survivors who have fled to South Sudan.

$250 - Provides a daily breakfast to 10 children for an entire month in Adré refugee camp, where many Darfuri genocide survivors now live.

$100 - Supports the monthly work of a sexual assault counselor in Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur, Sudan.

$50 - Helps repair classrooms in Yida damaged by seasonal rains and provide for general maintenance.

Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900. You can also donate stock or crypto.

Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

Shareables

Simply copy and paste to share this important story online or send to friends.

• Share Our Posts: Instagram | Threads | Facebook | LinkedIn | Reddit

• The latest war crimes in Sudan have torn through an area south of Khartoum, where the Rapid Support Forces recently went on a multi-day killing spree through nearly 60 defenseless towns and villages. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/hundreds-feared-dead-in-sudan-after-paramilitary-rampage-suicides-reported-in-aftermath

• From October 20-25, RSF fighters marched through towns and villages in northern and eastern Gezira. They executed civilians, looted property and markets, and sexually assaulted women and girls. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/hundreds-feared-dead-in-sudan-after-paramilitary-rampage-suicides-reported-in-aftermath

• The heaviest blow seems to have fallen on El Sariha village, where more than 120 people are reported to have been murdered by the RSF. Roughly 200 residents have been wounded. Over 150 more are missing and presumably being detained and tortured by the RSF. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/hundreds-feared-dead-in-sudan-after-paramilitary-rampage-suicides-reported-in-aftermath

• Gezira has been largely quite for months despite the RSF occupation and, with RSF forces facing intensifying pressure from the army and losing a top commander, are now taking their rage out on civilians as part of their predictable pattern. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/hundreds-feared-dead-in-sudan-after-paramilitary-rampage-suicides-reported-in-aftermath

Introducing Miles For Sudan

Miles For Sudan is a new global event for runners, walkers, and cyclists helping Sudanese heroes save lives in the world's largest humanitarian emergency.

•••••

With the war and famine in Sudan worsening by the day, our brave Sudanese partners are overwhelmed and in desperate need of more support. Miles For Sudan is our invitation to you to get into the game. It’s free to sign up. And your fundraising page automatically accepts 150+ currencies from around the world, meaning you can participate from wherever you call home.

Miles For Sudan FAQ | Sudan Crisis Guide | Our Partners | Fundraising Support

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Credits

FEATURING

• Runners: Emmanuel Amido, Scott Nivens, Will Moss, Corinne Thompson, Rajan Thakur, Brittney Tucker, Paul and Xitalli Sobero, Jonahius Kemboi, Sean Ferrell, Jonathan Fogo, and Jackie Broehl.

• "A Home-Sick Sparrow" by Sudanese poet Mahjoub Sahrif, who dedicated his life to seeing Sudan become free and just. Reading by Emmanuel Amido. We do not own the rights to this poem.

CREDITS

• Producer: Mark Hackett

• Director: Joshua Cannon

• Director of Photography: Jacob Geyer

• Assistant Director: Brody Kuhar

• G&E: Stuart Taylor & John Christman

• Art: Dustin Brantley, Will Knutson & Scott Nivens

• Sound: John Christman

• Still Photography: Nate Packard & Mark Hackett

• On-site Support: Jeffrey Cannon

• Music: Tim Mann, licensed via The MusicBed.

SPECIAL THANKS

• To the Amido family for being a central part of this story and inviting us into your beautiful home.

• Nashville Camera for serving us with our equipment needs.

• Farther Bag Co. for opening up your shop and making a Sudanese flag.

• Our Sudanese brothers and sisters, who will one day live in peace made possible by a whole and just Sudan.

Filmed on ARRI Alexa Mini and Cooke Anamorphic/i FF Prime Lenses.

“Death is everywhere” — Inside the Sudanese city under siege by a genocidal militia

Fighter jets roar overhead. Shells smash into homes and markets. Children succumb to famine. A genocidal militia inches closer by the day. The cemeteries in El Fasher, North Darfur are now so large they can be seen by satellites.

•••••

Like countless other Sudanese who have been trapped in El Fasher for months, Ibrahim was recently forced to flee for the third time in mid September. “The neighborhood I was in was bombed by Rapid Support,” Ibrahim says. “We survive by moving.”

17 months of war between the national army and a genocidal militia called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has torn Sudan to shreds. The country became home to the largest humanitarian and displacement crises in the world many months ago, a fact only a handful of journalists and globally-minded citizens are now beginning to realize. Khartoum already lies in ruins, as do countless other towns and villages the war has swept through, or that the RSF has massacred. Multiple areas of Sudan have descended into famine.

Map: Location of El Fasher. (Operation Broken Silence)

There is perhaps no other place in Sudan right now that shows just how dangerous this emergency has become than El Fasher. Home to an estimated two million people, the city and surrounding displacement camps have been surrounded by the RSF for five terrifying months.

It is widely expected that if the RSF overruns the Greater El Fasher area, the genocidal paramilitary force will engage in a massacre on a scale unprecedented in the 21st century. Many residents and displaced people here belong to ethnic African groups like the Zaghawa and Fur that the predominantly Arab RSF is openly targeting for annihilation. A sizable portion of the RSF rank and file adheres to an extremely racist, Arab-supremacist ideology that seeks to ethnically cleanse Darfur of African tribal groups and claims all other Sudanese Arabs are inferior.

“If the bombs don’t kill us we will starve,” Ibrahim says. “We live on borrowed time. I beg the world sees us before time runs out.”

A catastrophe long in the making

Darfur is not only home to historically-persecuted African tribes, but is also the stronghold of their main oppressor: the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF was born from the Arab militias that spearheaded the 2000s Darfur genocide. The militias were known then as janjaweed, a term loosely understood as devils on horseback. With arms provided by the Khartoum regime, the janjaweed swept into ethnically African villages, massacring defenseless civilians and destroying clean water wells, orchards and farms, and markets.

In 2013, the regime rebranded and consolidated the janjaweed militias into the Rapid Support Forces and began arming the paramilitaries with machine gun-mounted trucks, artillery and rockets, and anti-aircraft guns. The RSF spread into other parts of Sudan as it rapidly grew, seizing gold-rich land to further enrich and arm itself. Survivors of RSF attacks throughout the 2010s reported that some paramilitaries were not even Sudanese, but were mercenaries from Chad, Central African Republic, and even as far away as Mali.

The army teamed up with their RSF allies in October 2021, overthrowing a transitional government that was steering Sudan toward a democratic future. The RSF’s participation in the coup proved the paramilitary force’s power rivaled the army. Both sides expected to be the top player in their new regime. Predictably, in April 2023, RSF and army forces opened fire on each other in Khartoum and failed to assassinate the other side’s leadership.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in Darfur, communities braced for an inevitable return to mass killing. Within days the RSF launched a long-planned assault on Darfur’s African tribes, most notably the Masalit in West Darfur. The scale of death and destruction in the Masalit Genocide has been shocking, with an estimated 15,000 people exterminated in West Darfur’s state capital alone. Refugees streaming into Chad bring stories of mass graves, Masalit men and boys being hunted down and executed, and skyrocketing levels of rape and assault, all in an environment where RSF fighters call them “slaves” and other racist epithets.

The situation spiraled further in October 2023, when the RSF launched a lightening offensive across Darfur that saw state capitals and villages fall in rapid succession. El Fasher was largely spared due to a fragile ceasefire brokered by local leaders. Many people unable to escape Darfur fled to the city, one of the last safe havens in all of western Sudan.

Time may be running out

The El Fasher ceasefire collapsed in April when the RSF cut off the last road into the area, trapping an estimated two million Sudanese with dwindling food, water, and health services. Defending El Fasher is the army’s 6th Infantry Division, surviving Darfuri rebels from the 2000s genocide, pro-army militias, and volunteer Zaghawa fighters trying to protect their people.

Opposition to the RSF has united some of these former enemies for now. They collectively promised to make El Fasher the “graveyard of the janjaweed” and “fight to the death” if required. Attritional combat has been ongoing ever since, with regular surges of violence as the RSF has made repeated efforts to take key positions on the outskirts of the city.

After months of attritional warfare, the RSF seems now to be in the middle of a major assault to overrun El Fasher. The following images are from recent reports by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab, which is using satellites and open source information to track the RSF’s siege of El Fasher (use the navigation arrows to see more):

Extremely violent battles in the eastern parts of the city —including near face-to-face combat— have seen at least one of the army’s main defensive lines breached and the RSF make advances deep into central El Fasher. On September 19, RSF fighters managed to overrun army positions close to the Grand Market, less than a mile away from the army’s headquarters. The army and their Darfuri rebel allies claim to have repelled the attack, but to what extent is unknown. Both sides are taking heavy causalities.

Eyewitnesses have reported seeing some army units depart the army’s headquarters and a subsequent increase in army checkpoints on the main highway south out of El Fasher toward Zamzam Displacement Camp. This suggests the army and their allies are worried they will be unable to hold El Fasher in the coming weeks and may be preparing to retreat further south toward Zamzam.

Civilians are fleeing El Fasher en masse toward Zamzam, with a number of neighborhoods in El Fasher already abandoned. Yale HRL observed what appears to be displaced civilians fleeing on the road south to Zamzam (see above images). An uptick in foot traffic on the highway was first noticed in early September and continues today.

View fullsize

Map by Operation Broken Silence. Click or tap to expand.

Cemeteries in El Fasher and the surrounding camps have expanded rapidly the past few months. Much like the rest of Sudan, no one knows the true death toll here. What is known is that the area is a free-fire zone, with RSF and army forces placing no restrictions on the use of weaponry. RSF artillery tears through civilian neighborhoods and army warplanes and helicopter gunships bomb just about anything that moves in RSF-controlled areas.

This is why Ibrahim and so many others like him have been forced to flee over and over again to different parts of El Fasher, where food is running out and extreme hunger kills children daily. It has now been three months since Zamzam Displacement Camp and other areas of El Fasher descended into famine. A combination of the RSF blocking humanitarian aid to the area (and the army doing the same to larger swaths of Darfur), dwindling resources, destruction of healthcare facilities, and seasonal floods has given way to severe malnutrition and preventable disease outbreaks.

But the worst likely still lies ahead. If the RSF manages to overrun El Fasher proper, it is highly likely the paramilitary force will launch a brazen attack on Zamzam in the aftermath. Zaghawa militias are reportedly preparing to defend the camp and the other anti-RSF forces in El Fasher have virtually nowhere else to go. Even if Zamzam were demilitarized, the RSF’s long history of targeting the ethnic African minorities present in the camp suggests the paramilitary force will attack Zamzam anyways.

And even if the army and their local allies manage to hold El Fasher in the weeks ahead, the RSF’s deliberate, attritional siege is succeeding in doing what it was designed to: strangle human life in the area. Whether this massacre is committed all at once or continues playing out at a slow and brutal pace, it remains a massacre nonetheless.

To translate all of this in the plainest of terms: El Fasher is home to one of the largest genocide emergencies in the world today. The international community has had months to take a more forceful approach to relieve the siege —as many residents have been crying out for— and has refused to do so. We must continue doing everything we can to help local heroes on the ground save lives.

Our Sudanese sisters in Zamzam need your help

Left: A special food distribution for children. Right: Team Zamzam prepares to distribute emergency relief. (Team Zamzam)

Team Zamzam is made up of 20 female counselors who are distributing food, sanitizing soap, and medicine to the disabled and blind, the elderly, unaccompanied children, widows who have taken in children, and those with severe acute malnutrition. They have also provided counseling services to over 4,000 women who were sexually assaulted.

In August, Team Zamzam carried out an evaluation on most segments of the camp. The counselors distributed emergency aid comprised of red lentils, flour, and sugar to 1,123 vulnerable families. Beneficiaries included 20 widows, 63 orphans, 12 families with physically disabled family members, 13 families with paralyzed children, 72 families with acute malnutrition, and more.

Team Zamzam needs at least $20,000 per month to continue saving lives at this scale. Even more will help expand their direly needed services. Whether you can spare $10 or $1,000 doesn't matter; what matters is that we all do our part to support these brave women in this dark hour.

Here are just a few ways your donation can help:

• $5,000 - support all the work Team Zamzam does for an entire week.

• $2,500 - repair a broken water pump and increase the supply of clean water.

• $1,000 - provide basic medicines, sanitary kits, soap, and surgical masks.

• $500 - help deliver emergency food assistance to families who are starving.

• $200 - support two counselors for one month.

• $100 - support a counselor’s services for one month.

Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

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Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

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• Fighter jets roar overhead. Shells smash into homes and markets. Children succumb to famine. A genocidal militia inches closer by the day. The cemeteries in El Fasher, North Darfur are now so large they can be seen by satellites. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/inside-the-sudanese-city-under-siege-by-a-genocidal-militia

• Extremely violent battles in the eastern parts of the city —including near face-to-face combat— have seen at least one of the army’s main defensive lines breached and the RSF make advances deep into central El Fasher. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/inside-the-sudanese-city-under-siege-by-a-genocidal-militia

• Cemeteries in El Fasher and the surrounding camps have expanded rapidly. No one knows the true death toll here. What is known is that the area is a free-fire zone, with RSF and army forces placing no restrictions on the use of weaponry. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/inside-the-sudanese-city-under-siege-by-a-genocidal-militia

• El Fasher is home to one of the largest genocide emergencies in the world today. The international community has had months to take a more forceful approach to relieve the siege —as many residents have been crying out for— and has refused to do so. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/inside-the-sudanese-city-under-siege-by-a-genocidal-militia

• Team Zamzam is made up of 20 female counselors who are distributing food to the disabled and blind, the elderly, unaccompanied children, widows who have taken in children, and those with severe acute malnutrition. And they need your help. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/inside-the-sudanese-city-under-siege-by-a-genocidal-militia