“Desperation in Darfur: Zamzam Camp Under Siege Amidst Rising Famine Crisis”

LAGOS, Nigeria — The largest refugee camp in Sudan, which accommodates at least half a million individuals—many of whom are experiencing famine—has endured daily artillery assaults for the past two weeks. Local reports indicate that more than 80 individuals have perished and nearly 400 have been injured in the Zamzam camp located in Sudan’s besieged western area of Darfur.

Displaced individuals inhabiting the camp and humanitarian organizations such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have attributed the relentless shelling to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary organization engaged in a vicious civil conflict with Sudan’s military since April 2023.

The blockade has triggered a new humanitarian disaster, with the assaults obstructing already limited aid from reaching Zamzam, leaving its scant medical facilities overwhelmed. This development signifies a concerning shift in a region plagued by violence and atrocities against civilians, with increasing evidence from local and global human rights entities of ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the RSF in Darfur.

Despite being eclipsed by conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, the 20-month conflict in Sudan has claimed as many as 150,000 lives, according to various estimates. It has created the most severe displacement crisis globally, impacting 1 in 5 of the nation’s pre-war populace. The U.S. is among those accusing the RSF of ethnic cleansing and also holds Sudan’s military accountable for war crimes. In a statement issued last December, Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked: “Since the onset of hostilities on April 15, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have unleashed horrific acts of violence, death, and destruction throughout Sudan. Civilians have suffered the consequences of this senseless conflict.”

Meanwhile, Sudan is grappling with unprecedented hunger levels, with the United Nations reporting that 26 million individuals are at “crisis levels.” The Zamzam camp is currently the only location worldwide where famine has been officially declared.

On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Sudan. Peace negotiations have yet to yield results. During a U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday, Sudan’s envoy accused the United Arab Emirates of supporting the RSF, a claim that the UAE has vehemently denied.

Only 2 international aid organizations are operational in Zamzam

Prior to last year, 120,000 individuals lived in the Zamzam camp. Since then, its population has surged to at least 500,000, with estimates suggesting it could reach up to a million, according to Relief International. Most fatalities and injuries in the camp have resulted from shelling, as reported by aid organizations and experts examining the incidents. Medical personnel have treated children as young as four for gunshot wounds and trauma.

“Patients and healthcare workers are fleeing the camp in search of safety,” MSF stated in a note earlier this month. “People are not only facing starvation; they are also under bombardment.”

MSF and Relief International are the sole two international aid agencies still permanently situated in the camp.

“We cannot handle complex trauma cases that require surgical intervention,” stated Melanie Kempster, global health and nutrition director at Relief International. She emphasized that several critical cases remain untreated.

“We must refer those cases to the only functional hospital in El Fasher,” a besieged city nine miles away, she mentioned. “However, doing so is incredibly perilous. Armed factions are stationed near the camp entrance and on the sole access road to that hospital.”

A driver for Relief International was killed while attempting to reach the hospital earlier this year.

The RSF has denied assaulting the humanitarian camp, which would qualify as a war crime. However, RSF associates have defended engaging in combat near Zamzam, asserting that the conflict is directed against armed factions in conjunction with Sudan’s military.

In videos shared earlier this month by local Sudanese media, verified by NPR, displaced individuals expressed despair following an assault on the camp that resulted in damaged vehicles and shelters.

“This is not a military installation,” one individual lamented. “It’s not a camp for armed factions. This is the residence of a displaced citizen. An innocent person’s blood.”

Current assaults have intensified the hopelessness of Zamzam residents

Zamzam camp was established 20 years ago to accommodate tens of thousands displaced during the genocide in Darfur, where predominantly Arab militias, supported by the Sudanese government, waged a campaign against rebel factions in the area. Human Rights Watch reports that over 200,000 individuals, primarily civilians from Darfur, lost their lives between 2003 and 2005. The leading militia group responsible for these atrocities was the Janjaweed Arab militia, which later transformed into the RSF.

Since the onset of war last year, the RSF has swept through Darfur, gaining control over nearly the entirety of the region. It faces accusations of extensive atrocities, notably sexual violence, against local ethnic communities, echoing the violence witnessed during the genocide.

Over the years, the site has evolved into a quasi-city, permanently hosting survivors of the Darfur genocide and those displaced by more recent conflicts. Temporary shelters have progressively been supplanted by stable structures, including homes, clinics, and educational institutions.

However, with the ongoing conflict, the humanitarian situation within the camp has significantly worsened,leading to the formal acknowledgment of famine in August. Tens of thousands are enduring hunger and malnutrition, with children perishing almost daily, according to humanitarian organizations. Many have been compelled to consume peanut shells and animal feed known as “abbaz,” primarily consisting of grass.

The bombardment in recent weeks has exacerbated the desperation. Physicians affiliated with MSF and Relief International communicated with NPR from the camp and El Fasher under the condition of anonymity, fearing retaliatory actions from the RSF. One physician in Zamzam mentioned that the influx of injuries was overwhelming the minimal medical aid they could offer.

“We are short of essential supplies, even iodine,” he stated.

Another physician characterized the present circumstances as “a catastrophe.”

“I want the world to hear our pleas, to obtain a swift response, to assist us in escaping this crisis,” this physician expressed.

Individuals attempting to flee the vicinity of Zamzam are frequently ensnared

Last week, the same physician escaped the bombardment in Zamzam to El Fasher, the last significant city in the Darfur region not under RSF control. It has a population of nearly 1 million. The assaults on Zamzam are a continuation of a long-standing blockade on El Fasher, most of whose perimeter has been encircled by RSF fighters for several months. The city’s only operational hospital has faced repeated attacks, most recently from a drone strike attributed to the RSF, resulting in at least nine fatalities.

The offensive on the region has prompted thousands to flee from both El Fasher and Zamzam, attempting treacherous journeys on foot, risking entanglement in the conflict to reach safer towns over 40 miles away. However, most are effectively trapped, as RSF forces are positioned along most major thoroughfares.

“It’s a ‘kill box,'” remarked Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab, which has been observing the conflict. Individuals from Zamzam have been compelled to flee either south, toward RSF forces, he noted, or into desolate areas, where they face starvation.

“We can observe people camping under trees, on the roadside from space,” he stated, referring to satellite images examined by his organization. “They’re going out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

Most of those fleeing are already confronting severe physical challenges, he mentioned.

“You must mentally visualize what these individuals look like,” Raymond stated. “They are immunocompromised. The children, many of whom are beginning to develop conditions where their bodies are starting to consume their own muscle. You have a scenario where even a mere skin infection could be fatal.”

Fresh evidence suggests potential UAE backing of the RSF

Evidence regarding the RSF’s assault continues to surface, including the involvement of foreign entities purportedly inciting the conflict, including Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. A stream of arms into Sudan has persisted despite a U.N. Security Council arms embargo on the nation until September 2025.

However, scrutiny has particularly focused on the alleged involvement of the UAE. In a report released last week by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, researchers discovered that Zamzam camp and El Fasher were being shelled by artillery positioned 22 miles northeast of Zamzam. The specific weapon identified is an AH4 155 mm Howitzer, manufactured by a weapons company in China, as stated by the researchers. According to U.S. Defense Department documents reviewed by Yale HRL, the UAE is the only acknowledged nation to have acquired this weapon.

“This represents one of the most significant indications to date of prospective direct UAE support to the RSF,” Raymond noted. “No other country besides China is known to possess this.”

This week, White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk informed U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that the UAE has communicated to the Biden administration that “it is not currently supplying any weapons to the RSF and will refrain from doing so in the future.”