PORT SUDAN: Long before checkpoints were erected, disabled civilians in El Fasher, the main city of Darfur in western Sudan, were already trapped.
When war erupted between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary force, in April 2023, most residents could still flee advancing front lines. For many people with mobility impairments, visual disabilities or chronic illnesses, however, escape was never simple.
When the RSF encircled El Fasher in May 2024, that limited mobility hardened into confinement. The siege not only isolated a city; it immobilized a segment of its population first.
“We were watching others leave, but we had nowhere to go,” said Mariam M., a resident who uses crutches and fled the city three months ago. “Every time the shelling moved closer, my family would ask how we would carry me if we had to run.”
As time passed, people stopped talking about escape, understanding that if the fighters reached their neighborhoods, they would need to face them.
