In a tragic turn of events, more than 100 individuals, including at least 20 children, are now feared dead in Sudan due to paramilitary assaults targeting the beleaguered city of El-Fasher and two famine-stricken camps nearby. The United Nations has brought this alarming situation to light.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been engaged in conflict with the regular army since April 2023. Recently, they launched “coordinated ground and aerial assaults” on El-Fasher, as well as the Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
In recent weeks, the RSF has intensified its offensive on El-Fasher, the only state capital in Darfur still outside their control, following the army’s recapture of the national capital, Khartoum, last month. Reports from a local resistance committee, a volunteer aid group in El-Fasher, indicate that the death toll from yesterday’s assaults stands at 57, which includes 32 civilians in El-Fasher and 25 in Zamzam.
Sadly, the true impact of the devastation in Zamzam remains shrouded in uncertainty, largely due to ongoing internet outages and disrupted communications. Furthermore, the Sudanese Organisation for the Protection of Civilians revealed that among the deceased are nine humanitarian workers associated with a hospital in Zamzam that is run by an international non-governmental organization.
Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, expressed profound sorrow over these deaths, stating, “The colleagues from an international non-governmental organisation were killed while operating one of the very few remaining health posts still operational in the camp.” She emphasized, “This represents yet another deadly and unacceptable escalation in a series of brutal attacks on displaced people and aid workers in Sudan since the onset of this conflict nearly two years ago. I strongly urge those committing such acts to immediately desist.”
In response, the RSF dismissed a video allegedly shared by activists that showed civilians killed in Zamzam, denouncing it as a “desperate attempt to criminalise” its forces. Meanwhile, local advocacy groups, including the Darfur General Coordination of Camps for the Displaced and Refugees, reported that the violence resumed this morning, with heavy clashes and gunfire echoing through Zamzam for hours.
Notably, Zamzam was the initial area in Sudan where a UN-backed assessment declared a famine last year. By December, famine conditions had also afflicted two nearby camps, Abu Shouk and Al Salam, and projections indicate that El-Fasher itself could face famine by May.
The ongoing war has tragically claimed the lives of tens of thousands and displaced more than 12 million individuals since it began in April 2023. Both factions involved in this conflict have faced accusations of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law.
As we observe these heartbreaking developments, it underscores the urgent need for humanitarian intervention and a call for peace in a region that has endured too much suffering.
Edited By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
