The World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday warned that conditions in Sudan's besieged city of El-Fasher are “beyond horrific,” with between 70,000 and 100,000 people believed to remain trapped amid mass killings, starvation, and the collapse of basic services.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response Ross Smith said network blackouts have largely cut off communications, allowing only limited information to emerge from the North Darfur city.

“Satellite images and survivor accounts describe the city as a crime scene with mass killings, burned bodies, and abandoned markets,” Smith said.

He described fleeing El-Fasher as “extremely dangerous,” citing robbery, looting, gender-based violence, and roads littered with mines and unexploded ordnance.

WFP called for unimpeded access to El-Fasher to assess humanitarian needs.

Smith highlighted Tawila, where more than 650,000 displaced people are sheltering in overcrowded, makeshift conditions, with cholera widespread and services scarce.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls all five states of the Darfur region in the west, except for some northern parts of North Darfur that remain under the army's control.

The army holds most areas of the remaining 13 states in the south, north, east, and center, including the capital, Khartoum.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has since killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.