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The Independent
15-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Sudan faces deepening crisis as civil war hits two-year mark
Sudan is facing a deepening humanitarian crisis two years into a brutal civil war, marked by escalating atrocities and widespread famine. The conflict, described by the UN as the world's worst humanitarian emergency, has reached a critical juncture following a recent shift in the fighting. In March, the Sudanese military regained control of the capital, Khartoum, from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This victory, however, has not brought peace but instead pushed the conflict into a dangerous new phase, raising fears of a potential division of the country. Over the weekend, the violence intensified as RSF fighters and allied militias attacked two refugee camps in the Darfur region, leaving at least 300 dead. The besieged Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps, home to around 700,000 displaced Sudanese, are now grappling with famine conditions, further exacerbated by the ongoing fighting that prevents aid workers from reaching those in desperate need. The humanitarian situation is dire, with half of Sudan 's population of 50 million facing hunger. The World Food Program has confirmed famine in 10 locations and warned of its potential spread, putting millions at risk of starvation. Kashif Shafique, country director for Relief International Sudan, the last aid organisation operating in the Zamzam camp, stressed the urgency of the situation. "This abominable conflict has continued for two years too long," he said, following the deaths of nine of his colleagues in the RSF attack. Mr Shafique called for international pressure to secure a ceasefire, emphasizing the critical need for immediate action. "Every moment we wait, more lives hang in the balance,"he warned. "Humanity must prevail." Here is what is happening as the war marks its second anniversary on Tuesday. Carving up Sudan The war erupted on April 15, 2023, with pitched battles between the military and the RSF in the streets of Khartoum that quickly spread to other parts of the country. It was the culmination of months of tension between the head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSF's commander, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The two were once allies in suppressing Sudan's movement for democracy and civilian rule but turned on each other in a struggle for power. The fighting has been brutal. Large parts of Khartoum have been wrecked. Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes, 4 million of them streaming into neighboring countries. At least 20,000 people have been recorded killed, but the true toll is probably far higher. Both sides have been accused of atrocities, and the RSF fighters have been notorious for attacking villages in Darfur, carrying out mass killings of civilians and rapes of women. The military's recapture of Khartoum in late March was a major symbolic victory. It allowed Mr Burhan to return to the capital for the first time since the war started and declare a new government, boosting his standing. But experts say the RSF consolidated its hold on the areas it still controls — a vast stretch of western and southern Sudan, including the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The military holds much of the north, east and centre. 'The reality on the ground already resembles a de facto partition,' said Federico Donelli, an assistant professor of international relations at Università di Trieste in Italy. Mr Donelli said it's possible the two sides could seek a ceasefire now. But more likely, he said, the military will keep trying to move on RSF-held territory. Neither side appears able to defeat the other. 'Both parties are suffering from combat fatigue,' said Suliman Baldo, director of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker. The RSF is weakened by internal fissures and 'lacks political legitimacy within the country,' said Sharath Srinivasan, professor of international politics at Cambridge University. But it has strong access to weapons and resources, bolstered by support from the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia, he said. 'Without understanding the complex regional geopolitics of this war, it is easy to underplay the RSF's resilience and ability to strike back,' said Mr Srinivasan, author of When Peace Kills Politics: International Intervention and Unending Wars in the Sudans. Famine is deepening Hundreds of thousands of people trapped by the fighting face hunger and starvation. So far, the epicentre of famine has been in the North Darfur province and particularly the Zamzam camp. The RSF has been besieging the camp as it wages an offensive on El Fasher, the regional capital and the last main position of the military in the Darfur region. Amna Suliman, a mother of four living in the camp, said people have resorted to eating grass and tree leaves. 'We have no choice,' she said in a recent phone interview. 'We live in fear, with no communication, no food, and no hope.' Since famine was first declared in Zamzam in August, it has spread to other parts of the province and nearby South Kordofan province. The WFP warned this week that 17 other locations will also soon fall into famine – including other parts of the Darfur region but also places in central and south Sudan – because aid workers cannot reach them. 'The situation is very dire,' said Adam Yao, deputy representative of the UN Food and Agricultural Agency in Sudan. Already, at least 25 million people, more than half of the country's population, face acute hunger, including 638,000 who face catastrophic hunger, the most dire rating used by aid agencies, according to the WFP. Some 3.6 million children are acutely malnourished. The needs everywhere are huge In other areas, the military's capture of territory allowed aid groups to reach refugees and displaced people who have been largely cut off from aid for two years. Sudan has been hit by multiple outbreaks of cholera, malaria and dengue in the past two years. The latest cholera outbreak in March killed about 100 people and sickened over 2,700 others in the White Nile province, according to the Health Ministry. The economy has been decimated, with a 40 per cent drop in GDP, according to the United Nations' Development Program, UNDP. Full-time employment has been halved and almost 20 per cent of urban households reported that they have no income at all, it said. At the same time, UN agencies and aid groups have faced funding cuts from major donors, including the United States. Only 6.3 per cent of the $4.2 billion required for humanitarian assistance in Sudan this year has been received as of March, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Sudan. 'The reductions come at a time when the needs in Sudan have never been greater, with more than half of the population hungry and famine spreading,' she said. About 400,000 people managed to return to their hometowns in areas retaken by the military around Khartoum and nearby Gezira province, according to the UN migration agency. Many found their homes destroyed and looted. They depend largely on local charities for food. Abdel-Raham Tajel-Ser, a father of three children, returned in February to his neighborhood in Khartoum's sister city of Omdurman after 22 months of displacement. The 46-year-old civil servant said he found his house, which had been occupied by the RSF, severely damaged and looted. 'It was a dream,' he said of his return, adding that his life in the largely destroyed neighborhood with almost no electricity or communications is 'much better than living as a refugee or a displaced person'.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Famine and atrocities mount as Sudan's civil war enters its third year
CAIRO (AP) — As Sudan marks two years of civil war on Tuesday, atrocities and famine are only mounting in what the U.N. says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Last month, the Sudanese military secured a major victory by recapturing the capital of Khartoum from its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. But that has only moved the war into a new phase that could end up with a de facto partition of the country. On Friday and Saturday, RSF fighters and their allies rampaged in two refugee camps in the western Darfur region, killing at least 300 people. The Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps, which shelter some 700,000 Sudanese who fled their homes, have both been stricken with famine, and aid workers cannot reach them because of the fighting. Half the population of 50 million faces hunger. The World Food Program has confirmed famine in 10 locations and says it could spread, putting millions in danger of starvation. 'This abominable conflict has continued for two years too long,' said Kashif Shafique, country director for Relief International Sudan, the last aid group still working in the Zamzam camp. Nine of its workers were killed in the RSF attack. He said the world needs to press for a ceasefire. 'Every moment we wait, more lives hang in the balance,' he said. 'Humanity must prevail.' Here is what is happening as the war enters its third year: Carving up Sudan The war erupted on April 15, 2023, with pitched battles between the military and the RSF in the streets of Khartoum that quickly spread to other parts of the country. It was the culmination of months of tension between the head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSF's commander, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The two were once allies in suppressing Sudan's movement for democracy and civilian rule but turned on each other in a struggle for power. The fighting has been brutal. Large parts of Khartoum have been wrecked. Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes, 4 million of them streaming into neighboring countries. At least 20,000 people have been recorded killed, but the true toll is probably far higher. Both sides have been accused of atrocities, and the RSF fighters have been notorious for attacking villages in Darfur, carrying out mass killings of civilians and rapes of women. The military's recapture of Khartoum in late March was a major symbolic victory. It allowed Burhan to return to the capital for the first time since the war started and declare a new government, boosting his standing. But experts say the RSF consolidated its hold on the areas it still controls — a vast stretch of western and southern Sudan, including the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The military holds much of the north, east and center. 'The reality on the ground already resembles a de facto partition,' said Federico Donelli, an assistant professor of international relations at Università di Trieste in Italy. Donelli said it's possible the two sides could seek a ceasefire now. But more likely, he said, the military will keep trying to move on RSF-held territory. Neither side appears able to defeat the other. 'Both parties are suffering from combat fatigue,' said Suliman Baldo, director of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker. The RSF is weakened by internal fissures and 'lacks political legitimacy within the country,' said Sharath Srinivasan, professor of international politics at Cambridge University. But it has strong access to weapons and resources, bolstered by support from the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia, he said. 'Without understanding the complex regional geopolitics of this war, it is easy to underplay the RSF's resilience and ability to strike back,' said Srinivasan, author of 'When Peace Kills Politics: International Intervention and Unending Wars in the Sudans.' Famine is deepening Hundreds of thousands of people trapped by the fighting face hunger and starvation. So far, the epicenter of famine has been in the North Darfur province and particularly the Zamzam camp. The RSF has been besieging the camp as it wages an offensive on El Fasher, the regional capital and the last main position of the military in the Darfur region. Amna Suliman, a mother of four living in the camp, said people have resorted to eating grass and tree leaves. 'We have no choice,' she said in a recent phone interview. 'We live in fear, with no communication, no food, and no hope.' Since famine was first declared in Zamzam in August, it has spread to other parts of the province and nearby South Kordofan province. The WFP warned this week that 17 other locations will also soon fall into famine — including other parts of the Darfur region but also places in central and south Sudan — because aid workers cannot reach them. 'The situation is very dire,' said Adam Yao, deputy representative of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Agency in Sudan. Already, at least 25 million people, more than half of the country's population, face acute hunger, including 638,000 who face catastrophic hunger, the most dire rating used by aid agencies, according to the WFP. Some 3.6 million children are acutely malnourished. The needs everywhere are huge In other areas, the military's capture of territory allowed aid groups to reach refugees and displaced people who have been largely cut off from aid for two years. Sudan has been hit by multiple outbreaks of cholera, malaria and dengue in the past two years. The latest cholera outbreak in March killed about 100 people and sickened over 2,700 others in the White Nile province, according to the Health Ministry. The economy has been decimated, with a 40% drop in GDP, according to the United Nations' Development Program, UNDP. Full-time employment has been halved and almost 20% of urban households reported that they have no income at all, it said. At the same time, U.N. agencies and aid groups have faced funding cuts from major donors, including the United States. Only 6.3% of the $4.2 billion required for humanitarian assistance in Sudan this year has been received as of March, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Sudan. 'The reductions come at a time when the needs in Sudan have never been greater, with more than half of the population hungry and famine spreading,' she said. About 400,000 people managed to return to their hometowns in areas retaken by the military around Khartoum and nearby Gezira province, according to the U.N. migration agency. Many found their homes destroyed and looted. They depend largely on local charities for food. Abdel-Raham Tajel-Ser, a father of three children, returned in February to his neighborhood in Khartoum's sister city of Omdurman after 22 months of displacement. The 46-year-old civil servant said he found his house, which had been occupied by the RSF, severely damaged and looted. 'It was a dream,' he said of his return, adding that his life in the largely destroyed neighborhood with almost no electricity or communications is 'much better than living as a refugee or a displaced person.' ___ Associated Press Writer Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report.
The Independent
15-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Famine and atrocities mount as Sudan's civil war enters its third year
As Sudan marks two years of civil war on Tuesday, atrocities and famine are only mounting in what the U.N. says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Last month, the Sudanese military secured a major victory by recapturing the capital of Khartoum from its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. But that has only moved the war into a new phase that could end up with a de facto partition of the country. On Friday and Saturday, RSF fighters and their allies rampaged in two refugee camps in the western Darfur region, killing at least 300 people. The Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps, which shelter some 700,000 Sudanese who fled their homes, have both been stricken with famine, and aid workers cannot reach them because of the fighting. Half the population of 50 million faces hunger. The World Food Program has confirmed famine in 10 locations and says it could spread, putting millions in danger of starvation. 'This abominable conflict has continued for two years too long,' said Kashif Shafique, country director for Relief International Sudan, the last aid group still working in the Zamzam camp. Nine of its workers were killed in the RSF attack. He said the world needs to press for a ceasefire. 'Every moment we wait, more lives hang in the balance,' he said. 'Humanity must prevail.' Here is what is happening as the war enters its third year: Carving up Sudan The war erupted on April 15, 2023, with pitched battles between the military and the RSF in the streets of Khartoum that quickly spread to other parts of the country. It was the culmination of months of tension between the head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSF's commander, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The two were once allies in suppressing Sudan's movement for democracy and civilian rule but turned on each other in a struggle for power. The fighting has been brutal. Large parts of Khartoum have been wrecked. Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes, 4 million of them streaming into neighboring countries. At least 20,000 people have been recorded killed, but the true toll is probably far higher. Both sides have been accused of atrocities, and the RSF fighters have been notorious for attacking villages in Darfur, carrying out mass killings of civilians and rapes of women. The military's recapture of Khartoum in late March was a major symbolic victory. It allowed Burhan to return to the capital for the first time since the war started and declare a new government, boosting his standing. But experts say the RSF consolidated its hold on the areas it still controls — a vast stretch of western and southern Sudan, including the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The military holds much of the north, east and center. 'The reality on the ground already resembles a de facto partition,' said Federico Donelli, an assistant professor of international relations at Università di Trieste in Italy. Donelli said it's possible the two sides could seek a ceasefire now. But more likely, he said, the military will keep trying to move on RSF-held territory. Neither side appears able to defeat the other. 'Both parties are suffering from combat fatigue,' said Suliman Baldo, director of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker. The RSF is weakened by internal fissures and 'lacks political legitimacy within the country,' said Sharath Srinivasan, professor of international politics at Cambridge University. But it has strong access to weapons and resources, bolstered by support from the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia, he said. 'Without understanding the complex regional geopolitics of this war, it is easy to underplay the RSF's resilience and ability to strike back,' said Srinivasan, author of 'When Peace Kills Politics: International Intervention and Unending Wars in the Sudans.' Famine is deepening Hundreds of thousands of people trapped by the fighting face hunger and starvation. So far, the epicenter of famine has been in the North Darfur province and particularly the Zamzam camp. The RSF has been besieging the camp as it wages an offensive on El Fasher, the regional capital and the last main position of the military in the Darfur region. Amna Suliman, a mother of four living in the camp, said people have resorted to eating grass and tree leaves. 'We have no choice,' she said in a recent phone interview. 'We live in fear, with no communication, no food, and no hope.' Since famine was first declared in Zamzam in August, it has spread to other parts of the province and nearby South Kordofan province. The WFP warned this week that 17 other locations will also soon fall into famine — including other parts of the Darfur region but also places in central and south Sudan — because aid workers cannot reach them. 'The situation is very dire,' said Adam Yao, deputy representative of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Agency in Sudan. Already, at least 25 million people, more than half of the country's population, face acute hunger, including 638,000 who face catastrophic hunger, the most dire rating used by aid agencies, according to the WFP. Some 3.6 million children are acutely malnourished. The needs everywhere are huge In other areas, the military's capture of territory allowed aid groups to reach refugees and displaced people who have been largely cut off from aid for two years. Sudan has been hit by multiple outbreaks of cholera, malaria and dengue in the past two years. The latest cholera outbreak in March killed about 100 people and sickened over 2,700 others in the White Nile province, according to the Health Ministry. The economy has been decimated, with a 40% drop in GDP, according to the United Nations' Development Program, UNDP. Full-time employment has been halved and almost 20% of urban households reported that they have no income at all, it said. At the same time, U.N. agencies and aid groups have faced funding cuts from major donors, including the United States. Only 6.3% of the $4.2 billion required for humanitarian assistance in Sudan this year has been received as of March, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Sudan. 'The reductions come at a time when the needs in Sudan have never been greater, with more than half of the population hungry and famine spreading,' she said. About 400,000 people managed to return to their hometowns in areas retaken by the military around Khartoum and nearby Gezira province, according to the U.N. migration agency. Many found their homes destroyed and looted. They depend largely on local charities for food. Abdel-Raham Tajel-Ser, a father of three children, returned in February to his neighborhood in Khartoum's sister city of Omdurman after 22 months of displacement. The 46-year-old civil servant said he found his house, which had been occupied by the RSF, severely damaged and looted. 'It was a dream,' he said of his return, adding that his life in the largely destroyed neighborhood with almost no electricity or communications is 'much better than living as a refugee or a displaced person.' ___ Associated Press Writer Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report.
Associated Press
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Famine and atrocities mount as Sudan's civil war enters its third year
CAIRO (AP) — As Sudan marks two years of civil war on Tuesday, atrocities and famine are only mounting in what the U.N. says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Last month, the Sudanese military secured a major victory by recapturing the capital of Khartoum from its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. But that has only moved the war into a new phase that could end up with a de facto partition of the country. On Friday and Saturday, RSF fighters and their allies rampaged in two refugee camps in the western Darfur region, killing at least 300 people. The Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps, which shelter some 700,000 Sudanese who fled their homes, have both been stricken with famine, and aid workers cannot reach them because of the fighting. Half the population of 50 million faces hunger. The World Food Program has confirmed famine in 10 locations and says it could spread, putting millions in danger of starvation. 'This abominable conflict has continued for two years too long,' said Kashif Shafique, country director for Relief International Sudan, the last aid group still working in the Zamzam camp. Nine of its workers were killed in the RSF attack. He said the world needs to press for a ceasefire. 'Every moment we wait, more lives hang in the balance,' he said. 'Humanity must prevail.' Here is what is happening as the war enters its third year: Carving up Sudan The war erupted on April 15, 2023, with pitched battles between the military and the RSF in the streets of Khartoum that quickly spread to other parts of the country. It was the culmination of months of tension between the head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSF's commander, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The two were once allies in suppressing Sudan's movement for democracy and civilian rule but turned on each other in a struggle for power. The fighting has been brutal. Large parts of Khartoum have been wrecked. Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes, 4 million of them streaming into neighboring countries. At least 20,000 people have been recorded killed, but the true toll is probably far higher. Both sides have been accused of atrocities, and the RSF fighters have been notorious for attacking villages in Darfur, carrying out mass killings of civilians and rapes of women. The military's recapture of Khartoum in late March was a major symbolic victory. It allowed Burhan to return to the capital for the first time since the war started and declare a new government, boosting his standing. But experts say the RSF consolidated its hold on the areas it still controls — a vast stretch of western and southern Sudan, including the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The military holds much of the north, east and center. 'The reality on the ground already resembles a de facto partition,' said Federico Donelli, an assistant professor of international relations at Università di Trieste in Italy. Donelli said it's possible the two sides could seek a ceasefire now. But more likely, he said, the military will keep trying to move on RSF-held territory. Neither side appears able to defeat the other. 'Both parties are suffering from combat fatigue,' said Suliman Baldo, director of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker. The RSF is weakened by internal fissures and 'lacks political legitimacy within the country,' said Sharath Srinivasan, professor of international politics at Cambridge University. But it has strong access to weapons and resources, bolstered by support from the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia, he said. 'Without understanding the complex regional geopolitics of this war, it is easy to underplay the RSF's resilience and ability to strike back,' said Srinivasan, author of 'When Peace Kills Politics: International Intervention and Unending Wars in the Sudans.' Famine is deepening Hundreds of thousands of people trapped by the fighting face hunger and starvation. So far, the epicenter of famine has been in the North Darfur province and particularly the Zamzam camp. The RSF has been besieging the camp as it wages an offensive on El Fasher, the regional capital and the last main position of the military in the Darfur region. Amna Suliman, a mother of four living in the camp, said people have resorted to eating grass and tree leaves. 'We have no choice,' she said in a recent phone interview. 'We live in fear, with no communication, no food, and no hope.' Since famine was first declared in Zamzam in August, it has spread to other parts of the province and nearby South Kordofan province. The WFP warned this week that 17 other locations will also soon fall into famine — including other parts of the Darfur region but also places in central and south Sudan — because aid workers cannot reach them. 'The situation is very dire,' said Adam Yao, deputy representative of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Agency in Sudan. Already, at least 25 million people, more than half of the country's population, face acute hunger, including 638,000 who face catastrophic hunger, the most dire rating used by aid agencies, according to the WFP. Some 3.6 million children are acutely malnourished. The needs everywhere are huge In other areas, the military's capture of territory allowed aid groups to reach refugees and displaced people who have been largely cut off from aid for two years. Sudan has been hit by multiple outbreaks of cholera, malaria and dengue in the past two years. The latest cholera outbreak in March killed about 100 people and sickened over 2,700 others in the White Nile province, according to the Health Ministry. The economy has been decimated, with a 40% drop in GDP, according to the United Nations' Development Program, UNDP. Full-time employment has been halved and almost 20% of urban households reported that they have no income at all, it said. At the same time, U.N. agencies and aid groups have faced funding cuts from major donors, including the United States. Only 6.3% of the $4.2 billion required for humanitarian assistance in Sudan this year has been received as of March, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Sudan. 'The reductions come at a time when the needs in Sudan have never been greater, with more than half of the population hungry and famine spreading,' she said. About 400,000 people managed to return to their hometowns in areas retaken by the military around Khartoum and nearby Gezira province, according to the U.N. migration agency. Many found their homes destroyed and looted. They depend largely on local charities for food. Abdel-Raham Tajel-Ser, a father of three children, returned in February to his neighborhood in Khartoum's sister city of Omdurman after 22 months of displacement. The 46-year-old civil servant said he found his house, which had been occupied by the RSF, severely damaged and looted. 'It was a dream,' he said of his return, adding that his life in the largely destroyed neighborhood with almost no electricity or communications is 'much better than living as a refugee or a displaced person.' ___ Associated Press Writer Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report.
Middle East Eye
14-02-2025
- Health
- Middle East Eye
RSF attack on Darfur's Zamzam camp leaves all supplies on verge of running out
Two days after a brutal ground attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan's largest displacement camp has been left in complete ruins. Zamzam camp in North Darfur is home to nearly half a million people, most of whom are from the Zaghawa community and were displaced during the Darfur genocide two decades ago. On 11 February, RSF fighters reportedly entered the camp, armed with heavy weapons, artillery and firearms. The fighters opened fire on people in the camp, raided homes, looted shops and shelled the main market area, according to multiple media reports. The perpetrators eventually left the camp following fierce clashes with the Joint Forces, a coalition loyal to Sudan's army. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Another attack took place the following day, which was also later repelled by the Joint Forces. The RSF and Sudan's army have been at war since April 2023. The conflict has displaced more than 10 million people, and left over 12 million facing high levels of acute food insecurity. At least 31 people were killed and 81 wounded at Zamzam camp over the two days, a health ministry official said. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it received seven people at its field hospital in Zamzam on Tuesday who were dead on arrival. 'Zamzam camp is being subjected to the most heinous attack by the Rapid Support Forces,' Mini Minawi, commander of his own army-aligned forces and governor of the Darfur region, wrote on X, accompanied by a video of the destruction. He added that belongings were burned, pastures destroyed and livestock 'unable to walk after gasoline was poured on them'. Kashif Shafique of Relief International said that if the situation in Zamzam camp did not change in the next two to three weeks, 'all food will run out'. He added that his organisation would also run out of medical supplies at its field hospital in the camp if routes were not opened. 'Ethnically motivated killings' Zamzam camp is located near al-Fasher, the only city in the Darfur region under the control of Sudan's army. The RSF has laid siege to the city since April, cutting off supply routes and attacking surrounding areas. Shayna Lewis, Sudan specialist at Avaaz, a US-based NGO, said the RSF likely violated international humanitarian law in its attack on Zamzam. 'The deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects is banned under IHL, and all belligerents must distinguish between combatants and non-combatants at all times,' Lewis said. 'Even if the RSF were pursuing military targets in the camp, the proportionality of such an attack is highly dubious. These attacks must be independently investigated and may constitute war crimes.' The damage to the camp was documented by the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale's School of Public Health, using satellite imagery. It identified that the RSF had committed arson attacks and a ground incursion that razed 'nearly half of the main market in Zamzam'. Sources told Avaaz that civilians were struggling to flee Zamzam camp to find safety from the RSF's attack. 'Families in Zamzam are trying to hide themselves and trying to get out, but the RSF is going from door to door to find people, loot their belongings, and kill the men. We don't have news from Zamzam today,' said one source, in the nearby town of Tawila. The Zamzam camp in North Darfur's on 14 January 2025 and the same location on 13 February 2025 (top) showing heavy damage (Maxar Technologies/AFP) A report released last year by the Raoul Wallenberg Centre concluded that a genocide was taking place against non-Arab groups in Darfur, at the hands of the RSF and allied militias. It stated that there was "clear and convincing evidence" that Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Chad, the CAR and Russia, via the actions of the Wagner Group, were "complicit in the genocide". How the UAE kept the Sudan war raging Read More » The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, an advocacy group, said this week's attack was part of a pattern of ethnically motivated killings. 'The attack on Zamzam is not an isolated incident, but rather directly linked to the ongoing siege of el-Fasher and a wider pattern of the RSF systematically targeting non-Arab communities,' it wrote in a statement. 'Those with leverage over the RSF, including the United Arab Emirates, must urgently use their influence to pressure the group to halt its campaign of ethnically motivated killings, allow humanitarian access and commit to a ceasefire to prevent further atrocities.' MEE has reported on the network of supply lines that exist to funnel arms and other goods from the UAE to the RSF, via allied groups and governments in Libya, Chad, Uganda and the Central African Republic (CAR). The UAE has repeatedly denied providing military support to the RSF, but at the end of last year, outgoing Biden administration official Brett McGurk said that Emirati officials had promised to cease supplying the paramilitary group - a promise US officials do not believe the UAE has kept.
