Sudan is facing one of the world’s worst displacement crises as renewed fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) forces tens of thousands to flee their homes. Since the conflict began in April 2023, more than 12 million people have been displaced, including 8.8 million internally displaced people and 3.5 million refugees, according to humanitarian estimates.
The latest wave of violence in North Darfur has triggered a dramatic surge in displacement. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reports that over 100,000 people have fled El Fasher and surrounding villages since October 26. Many of them are arriving in Tawila “exhausted, dehydrated, and hungry,” with thousands still unaccounted for.
NRC Head of Operations in Sudan, Noah Taylor, said that as of November 19, 2025, Tawila had received nearly 379,000 people escaping famine-like conditions in Zamzam Camp and El Fasher. He warned that the town, which was never built to host such numbers, is now overwhelmed.
“When you crest the final hill into Tawila, you see what looks like a makeshift city rising out of the desert,” Taylor said. “Families continue to arrive daily, many separated from loved ones during the chaos.”
Aid organisations report severe shortages of clean water, food, and shelter. Makeshift structures—often built with sticks, blankets, and scrap materials—now stretch across the outskirts of Tawila. NRC estimates at least 5,000 families are living in temporary shelters.
Health risks are rising rapidly. With limited sanitation facilities and overstretched water systems, aid workers warn that disease outbreaks are imminent unless emergency assistance scales up immediately.
Humanitarian agencies fear that up to one million people may now be living in and around Tawila, most of them women and children. With restricted movement in areas controlled by armed groups, many displaced people remain beyond the reach of aid.
Taylor urged the international community to act swiftly: “Without safe humanitarian access and increased funding, conditions will deteriorate quickly.”
