Doctors in Sudan have warned of a looming humanitarian disaster in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, as hospitals struggle with severe shortages of medicine amid the ongoing war.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Sudan Doctors Network said thousands of residents are at risk as facilities in the city run out of drugs for chronic illnesses, antibiotics, and basic emergency supplies. Medical staff, it added, are overwhelmed by the rising number of injuries and illnesses caused by the fighting.

“This situation threatens an imminent humanitarian catastrophe,” the group said, urging international and regional actors to step in quickly with medical aid and to open safe corridors for unimpeded humanitarian access.

The network accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of besieging El-Fasher and blocking the flow of medical supplies, holding the group “fully responsible” for deaths linked to the crisis. It also called on Sudan’s health authorities to work with aid agencies to secure emergency deliveries of both medicine and food.

The warning follows an artillery attack on Abu Shouk displacement camp in El-Fasher days earlier, which killed at least 31 people, including women and children. The Sudan Doctors Network blamed the RSF for the strike, saying health workers are already struggling with acute shortages of staff and supplies across the city.

El-Fasher has been under siege since May, with local groups accusing the RSF of repeatedly shelling civilian areas despite international appeals to protect humanitarian corridors.

Sudan’s war between the army and RSF has raged since April 2023, killing more than 20,000 people and displacing about 14 million, according to UN and local estimates. Research by US universities, however, suggests the death toll could be as high as 130,000.

“Saving the lives of civilians in El-Fasher is an urgent priority that cannot be delayed,” the doctors’ network said.