Sudanese Canadians say family members who have applied to join them from war-torn Sudan are, after months of waiting, suddenly receiving approvals to come to Canada or communications from Ottawa’s immigration department about their applications.

Immigration Minister Lena Diab has this week come under pressure to get her department to speed up the processing of applications after massacres occurred in a besieged Darfur city.

Thousands of unarmed civilians have been killed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces this week in El Fasher, according to estimates from human-rights groups and independent monitoring sites. Reports included the killing of hundreds of people in a hospital.

The massacres are the latest atrocities in the Sudan war, which erupted in 2023 after a power struggle between Sudan’s army and the RSF. The war, considered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, has forced 12 million people from their homes, killed hundreds of thousands and left 30 million people in need of emergency aid.

Last year, Ottawa set up a temporary humanitarian program to help Sudanese with immediate family in Canada flee the civil war. The special pathway to permanent residence for people affected by the conflict is available to Sudanese with immediate family here who can help support them.