El-Fasher, Sudan — In the besieged city of El-Fasher, journalists remain trapped alongside civilians, enduring hunger, relentless bombardment, and targeted violence as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) tighten their grip on North Darfur’s last government-held stronghold.
Reporting Amid Violence
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), media workers in El-Fasher face systematic persecution. RSF fighters have stormed homes, deployed informants to identify reporters, and used sexual violence and intimidation to silence coverage. With food and medicine cut off for months, journalists share the same famine conditions as the population they cover.
A City Under Siege
Satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts confirm that the RSF has encircled El-Fasher with earthen berms and checkpoints, blocking humanitarian aid and trapping an estimated 260,000 civilians. Journalists describe rationing unsafe food substitutes, working without electricity or internet, and filing reports under constant threat of shelling and drone strikes.
Voices of Defiance
Despite the risks, many refuse to abandon their work. “I chose to stay [in El-Fasher] so I can be the voice of my people who now have none. Journalism here is not just a job, it is a duty, even if it costs us our lives,” journalist Muammar Ibrahim told CPJ.
The recent killing of Alnor Suleiman Alnor, a veteran reporter struck in an RSF drone attack on his home, underscores the mortal danger. CPJ has documented at least 14 journalists killed since Sudan’s war erupted in April 2023.
Outlook
As El-Fasher’s humanitarian crisis deepens, its journalists continue to report under siege, embodying both the fragility of press freedom and the resilience of those determined to bear witness. Their survival — and their ability to keep telling the world what is happening — hangs in the balance.
Sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; Black Star News [1]; MSN.
- CPJ reports detail sexual violence, famine, and targeted attacks against journalists in El-Fasher. ↩
