Sudan: Access to stricken Zamzam camp ‘is nearly impossible’

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Civilians sheltering in the vast Zamzam displacement camp in Sudan’s North Darfur region are now “nearly impossible” to reach, the UN’s top aid official in the country warned on Thursday.

“I am deeply worried about reports of destruction of homes and livelihoods in North Darfur,” said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan. “Civilians continue to pay the price. Access to Zamzam camp is nearly impossible, just when people need support the most. We need unimpeded humanitarian access to deliver life-saving aid.”

Zamzam camp is around 15 kilometres south of El Fasher town, the capital of North Darfur, which has been besieged by militia forces opposing the Government in Khartoum now for months. It opened in 2004 to shelter people uprooted by the war in the west of the country.

Just last week, the UN World Food Programme reported that children were already dying in the camp and that thousands could starve in the coming weeks, after it was forced to pause aid distribution amid heavy shelling.

Allies-turned-foes

Across Sudan, the Government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been battling their former allies- turned-adversaries, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, since 15 April 2023 when a planned transition to civilian rule broke down.

The RSF now controls virtually all of Darfur but has been laying siege to the city of El Fasher for months, close to Zamzam.

RSF militia stormed the camp on 11 February triggering several days of clashes with army troops and allied forces, according to news reports.

On Tuesday evening, in another attack on civilians that have been a feature of the Sudan conflict, dozens of mainly Muslims were believed to have been killed in North Darfur’s Abu Shouk camp after an attack on a busy market there, credited to the RSF.

That followed another reported shelling attack on the camp on Sunday which left six dead.

In a related development, the Security Council expressed grave concern over the signing of a charter by Sudan’s opposition forces seeking to establish a parallel governing authority in Sudan.

“The members of the Security Council underscored that such actions risk exacerbating the ongoing conflict in Sudan, fragmenting the country, and worsening an already dire humanitarian situation,” the 15-member body said.

$22 million in emergency aid provided

Today, two million people in 27 locations across Sudan are now experiencing famine or on the brink of it. The Sudanese army controls northern and eastern regions, while the militia and their allies hold sway in much of the Darfurs in the west and parts of the south.

To help the most vulnerable civilians, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, announced on Thursday that $22 million is to be allocated to support lifesaving humanitarian aid in Sudan.

The funds will be released from the Central Emergency Response Fund, CERF, to offer assistance to counter the impact of the spiralling conflict, hunger, disease and climate shocks.

Child rape horrror

Earlier this week, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that infants as young as one year old were being raped by armed forces.

More than 220 cases of child rape have been reported since the start of 2024, the UN agency said, citing data from teams helping victims of gender-based violence.

“Children as young as one being raped by armed men should shock anyone to their core and compel immediate action,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.