Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: October 4, 2025
‘Time is running out…’
This is the opening of a joint letter CSW signed this week, along with 100 other organisations and humanitarian actors. Together we are calling for urgent action to protect civilians in El Fasher (Sudan), which has been under siege for more than 500 days.
El Fasher is the capital of North Darfur and the state’s main battleground between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
Fighting intensified in August and early September. Yet recent reports reveal that it is more dangerous to leave than to stay, with people being targeted and killed on the road out of the city.
This leaves hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in El Fasher – including an estimated 130,000 children – who have already endured a 17-month siege by the RSF.
‘There are no safe exit routes out of the city,’ warned the UN’s Human Rights Office. ‘Civilians are trapped in a situation of impossible choices: stay in El Fasher and risk bombardment, starvation, and atrocities if the RSF overrun the city; or flee and face the risk of summary execution, sexual violence, and abduction.’
The situation is urgent – but we are not powerless. Will you stir yourself to pray today?
In the words of Psalm 10, we pray: ‘Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.’
Please pray specifically:
- For safe and dignified exit routes out of El Fasher. Pray that all civilians who are trying to leave the city will be able to do so safely and voluntarily, without delay and without hindrance.
- For urgent humanitarian aid into El Fasher. Pray that life-saving assistance, including medical care, will be provided to this vulnerable population. Some people are too weak to evacuate.
- For an end to attacks on places of worship, which have been targeted during the siege. This is especially concerning since they often double as places of refuge for displaced civilians. The Sudan Episcopal Church was hit six times by RSF shelling between May and September 2025. Then just two weeks ago, at least 70 people were killed when the RSF attacked a mosque on 19 September.
- That our collective advocacy efforts would have a huge, positive impact for peace and justice.
- Pray that the calls in the joint letter would be heard, and the measures put into effect.
We are grateful that members of our team were at the United Nations in Geneva last week, pressing on in advocacy for the people of Sudan during the current session of the Human Rights Council (HRC).
Our final prayer request this week is for an important vote that will be taking place at the HRC within the next few days:
You may have heard about the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan. This group of independent experts has been working to document and report on the human rights violations committed during the conflict, with the aim of holding the perpetrators of war crimes to account.
Given the gravity of the current situation, it is vital that this work does not stop. Please pray that the UN HRC will vote in favour of renewing the mandate so that the Fact-Finding Mission can continue for a further year.
‘Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out.’ (Psalm 10:15)