Red Cross Calls for Access to El Fasher

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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called for full access to the population in El Fasher to assess the situation on the ground, listen directly to residents about the hardship they have endured, and deliver much-needed assistance.

Patrick Youssef, the ICRC’s Regional Director for Africa, warned of the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, stressing that “every day without access to El Fasher is a lost day.” He emphasized that the ICRC’s mission goes beyond delivering aid — it aims to conduct field assessments and hear firsthand accounts from the affected population.

Speaking at a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday, Youssef explained that Red Cross teams are currently deployed in surrounding areas where internally displaced people are fleeing in different directions. He noted that the ICRC maintains a strong presence in Tawila, where the organization will, within hours, distribute cash assistance to 75,000 people and provide essential medical supplies and operational support to a hospital run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Youssef underscored the need for humanitarian organizations to be granted “adequate humanitarian space” to engage with communities, rather than merely delivering aid and leaving. “We are not a charity, nor the United Nations,” he said. “What we need is to sit with people to understand the extent of their suffering — exactly as we are doing now in Tawila.”

He commended the courageous efforts of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, which has lost 27 volunteers since the conflict began. While the current focus is on El Fasher, Youssef stressed the importance of adopting a nationwide approach, adding: “Do not be mistaken. Today it is El Fasher. Yesterday it was Al-Jazira, and before that Omdurman and Khartoum.”

Youssef stated that the ICRC is engaging with parties to the conflict as well as the Quartet (the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt). He welcomed broader engagement, including from the African Union, to break “the vicious cycle of war,” expressing hope for a ceasefire that would allow greater humanitarian access.