“The City of Sultans” under siege… “The Earth” refuge for the people of Fasher

17th March 2025

3 minutes read

"The City of Sultans" under siege… "The Earth" refuge for the people of Fasher

When the earth becomes a pillow, and the earth’s depths become the final refuge, the people of Fasher realize that survival is no longer above ground, but beneath it.

In the besieged “City of Sultans,” there is no choice but to dig shelters with their own hands, searching for a safe spot to protect them from shellfire and drones, while the specter of hunger and death haunts them at every corner.
Inside a narrow hole dug next to her house, Nafisa Malik tries to gather her five children around her, seeking safety amid the sounds of shellfire shaking the city of Fasher in the Darfur region.

She had no choice but to dig this shelter with her own hands, using whatever pieces of wood and metal she could find, while sandbags piled up at the entrance to form a shield against the scattered shrapnel.

A hole near a house in Fasher for hiding

Nafisa was not alone in this fate, as reported by the AFP. Fasher, the last stronghold of the Sudanese army in Darfur, has been under siege for months, with relentless shelling from artillery and drones.

Amid the suffocating siege and constant bombardment, the people of Fasher, known as the “City of Sultans,” have found themselves forced to dig shelters with their own hands inside homes, stores, and even hospitals, searching for any chance to survive the shellfire and drones, while food and medical supplies dwindle, and the specter of famine looms over the besieged city.

Operating rooms in shelters

In one of the city’s neighborhoods, Mohammed Ibrahim (54) realized that hiding under beds was no longer enough to protect his family.
He had lost some of his neighbors under the rubble, while his children lived in terror from the bombardment. His only option was to dig a shelter in his garden, where he spends most of his time with his family, waiting for a ceasefire that may never come.

These shelters are not limited to homes. At the Saudi hospital, one of the last functioning medical facilities in the city, doctors were forced to dig their own shelter in October.
With each wave of shelling, they hurried to move patients to this cramped space, where surgeries were carried out by the light of mobile phones, amid the shaking of walls and relentless explosions.

On the brink of famine

Beyond the immediate danger of shelling, the city faces another equally deadly threat: hunger. The markets are nearly abandoned, and food is scarce.
Transporting goods has become a risky venture due to the checkpoints and high fees imposed.

At the same time, the United Nations has announced a famine affecting three displacement camps around Fasher, and it is expected to spread to the city itself in the coming months, with warnings that hundreds of thousands are now on the brink of starvation.

What is the significance of Fasher?

The significance of Fasher is not only in its history, having once been the capital of the Fur Sultanate in the 18th century, but it also represents a crucial strategic stronghold in the conflict.
If the Rapid Support Forces manage to take control of it, they will extend their influence over the entire Darfur region, giving them significant leverage in negotiations with the Sudanese army.

But the army and its allies face a difficult dilemma: resistance here is costly, but it is necessary, as the fall of the city represents an “existential threat” to the local tribes, particularly the Zaghawa, who fear retribution from the Rapid Support Forces if they lose control of Fasher.

Amid these military and political calculations, civilians remain at the heart of the tragedy, trapped between the flames of bombardment and hunger, waiting for a miracle to save their lives, or at least buy them some time in their race against death.