Darfur: The Urgent Call to Protect Lives Trapped Under Siege
TAWILA, SUDAN – 06 October 2025: In Sudan’s Darfur, civilians remain trapped in the epicentre of one of the gravest protection crises of our time. “Each day we are witnessing atrocities that demand immediate global action,” warns Nic Pyatt, Regional Director with NP. “Civilians are trapped in a nightmare, forced to choose between risking their lives for an uncertain possibility of obtaining a handful of food, or waiting in terror as hunger, disease, and violence close in. This is a deliberate assault on humanity, and every hour of inaction costs lives.”
For over two years, Darfur has witnessed relentless abuse and deprivation. Starvation has been imposed, mass forced displacement has fractured communities, and violence has shaped daily life. Humanitarian corridors remain inaccessible. Hundreds of thousands—primarily women, children, and those with disabilities—find themselves unable to flee. The rising threat of aerial attacks now puts civilians at even greater risk. Recent incidents have claimed lives in marketplaces, places of worship and internal displacement camps for civilians.
As attacks intensify in and around El Fasher, families attempt to escape day and night, only to face dangerous hurdles and pervasive threats of abduction and sexual violence. Humanitarian workers and medical staff have been killed or injured trying to carry out their lifesaving duties. The collapse of health systems has allowed outbreaks of cholera, malaria, and typhoid to rage unchecked. Some communities now survive on animal fodder, and deaths from food poisoning and preventable diseases continue to climb.
“What these communities endure is not inevitable,” emphasizes Pyatt. “It is the result of choices made and perpetuated every day by parties to this conflict and an international community that has largely looked the other way.”
NP urgently calls for renewed efforts by states to end the siege, secure humanitarian access, and use all available diplomatic leverage to secure protection for civilians. Decisive leadership and global solidarity are needed now—not tomorrow—to stop the violence, safeguard civilians, and invest in pathways out of war.
“The negligence must stop,” adds Pyatt. “States must renew their efforts to negotiate safe passage for civilians with parties to the conflict and use all available leverage to achieve this goal. Civilians need options now. It is already too late for many, but coherent action is still needed.”
ABOUT NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE:
Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) is an international protection agency. Our mission is to protect civilians in violent conflicts through unarmed strategies, build peace side-by-side with local communities, and advocate for the wider adoption of these approaches to safeguard human lives and dignity. NP's duty of care programming aims to reduce the physical risks volunteers face while supporting the psychological resilience of volunteer networks and the communities they serve.
For media inquiries, please contact Mahmoud Shabeeb, NP’s Global Media Adviser, at [email protected].