Mellit, November 5 (Darfur24)
Thousands of people fleeing El Fasher to the town of Mellit, about 65 km to the north, are facing increasingly dire humanitarian conditions, amid severe shortages of food, drinking water, medicine, and shelter.
Fatima Mohamed Al-Bashar, one of the newly displaced, told Darfur24 that shelters in Mellit are overcrowded, forcing many families to sleep outside without basic supplies.
She said her family spent three days traveling from El Fasher and has been waiting in front of a shelter, hoping to be relocated to Ad-Dabba.
Another displaced woman, Sayyida Ibrahim, said she arrived in Mellit after a four-day journey from the Tora area, north of El Fasher. She is currently staying with relatives in the Al-Imtidad neighborhood. She has appealed for humanitarian organizations to support Mellit’s Emergency Room in assisting the displaced.
A volunteer in Mellit told Darfur24 that the town is hosting more than 100,000 displaced people, including over 60,000 who arrived between September and October. Most are women, children, elderly people, and some wounded or sick individuals. He said more than 30 shelters, mostly schools and public buildings, are now full.
He explained that a communal kitchen set up by the Emergency Room last October ran for only a short period before funding ran out, leaving families dependent on small local donations. Residents have shared what food they can, despite difficult economic conditions.
In a recent statement, the Mellit Emergency Room warned that the humanitarian situation has become “extremely critical”, with acute shortages of shelter materials and clothing for newly displaced families, especially women and children. It also reported increasing pressure on the town’s water sources.
The Emergency Room called on national and international humanitarian organizations to intervene immediately to prevent further deterioration.