Catholic leaders urge protection for 260,000 trapped in El-Fasher as RSF seizes city; UN reports executions, hospital massacre, starvation in Sudan war.
Newsroom (30/10/2025, Gaudium Press ) As the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group declared control over El-Fasher, the embattled capital of North Darfur state, Catholic Church leaders intensified appeals for the safeguarding of thousands of “forgotten” civilians, including 130,000 children, trapped amid escalating violence in the western Sudanese city.
On October 26, the RSF and its allies announced the capture of the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) primary base, effectively seizing the city after an 18-month siege marked by intensified bombings, heavy artillery, and drone strikes that compelled the army’s retreat.
Approximately 260,000 civilians remain confined in the region’s principal camp for internally displaced persons, facing dire shortages of aid, according to the United Nations and Catholic relief agencies.
“It is a forgotten war because the people are really forgotten,” said Italian Bishop Christian Carlassare of Bentiu, South Sudan, in an interview with OSV News. “Unfortunately, it’s a forgotten war for the international community, but it’s not forgotten for the weapon merchants, who are making a lot of profits out of this war.”
In an October 29 statement, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) condemned a sharp rise in violence in and around El-Fasher, decrying “in the strongest terms reported attacks by the Rapid Support Forces against civilians, civilian infrastructure and humanitarian workers.”
Credible accounts detailed “widespread violations, including summary executions, house-to-house raids, sexual violence, and attacks along escape routes preventing civilians from reaching safety,” OCHA reported.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed outrage in an October 29 post on X, stating that the agency was “appalled and deeply shocked by reports of the tragic killing of more than 460 patients and companions at Saudi Maternity Hospital” in El-Fasher, amid recent attacks and the abduction of health workers.
Since the conflict erupted in April 2023, WHO has verified 185 attacks on health care facilities in Sudan, resulting in 1,204 deaths and 416 injuries among workers and patients. “Forty-nine of these attacks occurred this year alone, killing 966 people,” Ghebreyesus noted. He demanded that “all attacks on health care MUST STOP immediately and unconditionally,” emphasizing protection under International Humanitarian Law for patients, personnel, and facilities.
UNICEF highlighted acute child starvation in El-Fasher due to blocked nutrition services. “Blocking humanitarian access is a grave violation of children’s rights and the lives of children are hanging in the balance,” said Executive Director Catherine Russell.
Throughout the siege, RSF forces barred food and medical supplies from entering the city, with gunmen reportedly killing civilians attempting to escape. Dozens perished from indiscriminate shelling, starvation, and a cholera outbreak, as aid groups accused the paramilitaries of employing starvation as a tactic.
“We cannot accept what is happening in El-Fasher. While the international media are silent about Sudan, we cannot forget,” stated an October 17 appeal from the Comboni Missionaries. “Dozens of women, men and children have already lost their lives due to lack of food.”
Father Abdallah Hussein, vicar general of the El Obeid Diocese encompassing Darfur, described severe communication blackouts. “These days, there is no communication. There is no network. I do not have information about El-Fasher,” he told reporters.
Christians comprise 5.4% of Sudan’s 48 million people, with Islam predominant at 91% and indigenous faiths at 2.8%, per the U.S. State Department’s 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom.
The war, pitting the SAF under Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the RSF led by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”), has claimed thousands of lives since April 15, 2023. It has displaced 9 million internally and driven nearly 4 million to refugee status in neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
Bishop Carlassare accused warring factions and backers of exploiting gold and other resources to sustain the conflict. “We are witnessing the exploitation of these resources to continue the conflict. They are stealing twice from the people. They are stealing peace and then the natural resources,” he said.
He urged the Church to amplify awareness, noting Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali of El Obeid’s recent European travels to highlight Darfur’s atrocities. Carlassare expressed hope for Vatican diplomacy to unite parties and advocate for the abandoned.
In Nairobi, Father Andrew Kaufa of the Montfort Missionaries and communications coordinator for the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), said regional bishops are deeply concerned. “They have discussed how they can visit the country physically to express solidarity with the bishops and the remaining Christians. They will also continue to pray for the country and issue messages of solidarity,” he reported.
Peace initiatives persist, led by the United States, with Sudan’s foreign minister in Washington for talks. The U.S. and Egypt are engaging the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, key supporters of the rivals.
“I think there are some teammate actions for peace. … President (Donald) Trump is trying to broker some agreement as he did for Congo and for other places,” Bishop Carlassare observed. He called for a durable accord “written with a pen, rather than a pencil,” to ensure truth and justice in the spiraling crisis.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from OSV news
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