Senior Guardian reporter. Awards inc British Press Awards reporter of the yr, Amnesty, FPA, Orwell Prize, Oneworld.. [email protected]
London
Joined April 2010
- Tweets1.5K
- Following1.3K
- Followers9.2K
- Likes749
Pinned Tweet
The 528-day siege of El Fasher: Guardian investigation reveals how the UAE denied life-saving aid to the starving city and why the West failed to help. theguardian.com/global-devel…
Surely, time for a full parliamentary inquiry into the UK government's approach to Sudan? UK officials tried to downplay the number of dead in El Fasher; suppressed Ethiopian involvement in the war to protect the UAE. On it goes. Needs a proper inquiry. theguardian.com/global-devel…
Mark Townsend retweeted
We are proud to announce the finalists for the 2026 Orwell Prize for Journalism. Congratulations all - and huge thanks to our expert panel @GregWilliams718 (Chair), Nick Davies, @meenakshirv & @SayeedaWarsi.
Explore the shortlists: orwellfoundation.com/the-orw…
Mark Townsend retweeted
#KeepEyesOnSudan
A @guardian investigation reveals that internal US and UK warnings were sidelined. "US State Department intelligence assessments that would have triggered obligations to save El Fasher were buried."
"The UK seemingly abandoned El Fasher: reports predicting genocide apparently discarded; intelligence apparatus that should have prompted intervention were not updated throughout the 561-day siege."
The Sudan war was an open secret. "Chronicle of a Death Foretold": They all knew about it, yet it was allowed to happen and to continue happening.
theguardian.com/global-devel…
It was the biggest massacre for decades - 10,000 Sudanese killed over two days. The international community knew genocide was inevitable. Why and how did it happen? Huge thanks to @Sihanet @ikhlassahmed77 @nattyray11 @KholoodKhair theguardian.com/global-devel…
It was the biggest massacre on the planet for more than three decades. It was also one that everyone saw coming. Here is why and how it happened.... theguardian.com/global-devel…
Mark Townsend retweeted
This statement doesn’t once include the word “genocide”, which was the core finding of the report to which it is responding.
Foreign Secretary @YvetteCooperMP's statement on the release of the UN Fact Finding Mission Report on El Fasher ⤵️
ALT Statement on UN Fact Finding Mission report on El Fasher by Yvette Cooper, Foreign Secretary. Full text on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretarys-statement-on-the-un-fact-finding-mission-report-on-el-fasher
Mark Townsend retweeted
Powerful reminder to the #UNSC from @HalaYAlkarib of @SIHAnet: the future of #Sudan must be written by its own people.
Read her full statement here: wps.ngo/alkarib2026
Mark Townsend retweeted
Dr. Omar Selik’s raw, urgent testimony from a besieged city cut through the fog of war, crystallizing the depravity of Sudan's war.
And then he was gone.
nytimes.com/2025/10/01/world…
This is the inside, shocking story of a massacre of Sudanese civilians - the most vulnerable population in the world at the time - and why the world let it happen. theguardian.com/global-devel…
Mark Townsend retweeted
And the winner of the #AmnestyMediaAwards 2025 ✨ WRITTEN INVESTIGATIONS ✨ award is...
🏆 The Guardian with 'The Brutal Truth Behind Italy's Migrant Reduction' 🏆
Read it here: theguardian.com/global-devel…
👏 @TownsendMark 👏
Mark Townsend retweeted
“It's inspiring to see so many reporters using clear, brave writing to expose injustices.” – Dr Matt Walsh, Chair of Judges
Congratulations to the finalists for the Orwell Prize for Journalism 2025.
Explore their work: orwellfoundation.com/the-orw…
#OrwellPrize2025
Mark Townsend retweeted
A must read: Rwandan troops ‘dying in large numbers in DRC’, despite official denials of role. An investigation by @michelawrong & @TownsendMark theguardian.com/global-devel…
Mark Townsend retweeted
So grateful to @Sonja_Miley & @CrowtherMaddy at @WagingPeaceUK for speaking to us about the conflict & their work with refugees & to @TownsendMark for sharing his insight into his recent trip to Chad. Read his article here: google.com/amp/s/amp.theguar…
#Sudan
open.spotify.com/episode/54L…
NEW EPISODE!
The latest conflict has plunged Sudan into "one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history".
We speak to @TownsendMark, a senior global development reporter at the @guardian on what he's seen.
We also speak to the Co-Directors at @WagingPeaceUK
Mark Townsend retweeted
NEW EPISODE!
The latest conflict has plunged Sudan into "one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history".
We speak to @TownsendMark, a senior global development reporter at the @guardian on what he's seen.
We also speak to the Co-Directors at @WagingPeaceUK
Sudan’s exodus, my report inside this week’s Guardian Weekly. theguardian.com/news/2024/ma…
‘Here, there is no future’: world turns its back as ethnic cleansing and fresh atrocities drive exodus of thousands from Darfur theguardian.com/global-devel…
Phone messages reveal detained British mothers who have been abandoned by UK gov fear death in Syrian camp theguardian.com/global-devel…
Mark Townsend retweeted
Middle East thrust into ‘apocalyptic’ humanitarian crisis.
Powerful reporting by @TownsendMark for @guardian on how war in the region, particularly in #Gaza, is putting unprecedented pressures on aid agencies to reach those in need of assistance.
theguardian.com/global-devel…
