UNICEF: Hundreds of thousands of children at risk in Zamzam camp, Sudan

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned yesterday that hundreds of thousands of children are at risk due to escalating fighting in Zamzam camp for displaced people in El Fasher, western Sudan.

In a brief statement on X, UNICEF Sudan said: “Hundreds of thousands of children are at risk as fighting escalates in and around El Fasher and Zamzam camp in North Darfur in #Sudan.”

Earlier yesterday, the Sudanese army announced that it had repelled an attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Zamzam camp. Meanwhile, North Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minawi stated that the RSF had “attacked Zamzam camp for the second time in two days.”

Minawi urged the international and regional communities to “draw attention to these catastrophic events and the genocide being committed by the militia (RSF) against the camp’s residents.”

As of 18:00 GMT, the RSF had not issued any response regarding the attack on the camp, which is home to an estimated two million displaced people, according to unofficial figures.

On Tuesday, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) expressed deep concern for its staff and the hundreds of thousands of people already suffering under bombardment and hunger in Sudan’s largest displacement camp.

In a statement, the organisation said: “As RSF is stepping up attacks around El Fasher and laying the siege to the city and to Zamzam camp, @MSF is extremely worried about the safety of its staff and the hundreds of thousands of people already living under shelling and starvation in Sudan’s largest displacement camp.”

Since 10 May 2024, El Fasher has witnessed clashes between the army and the RSF, despite international warnings about the fighting in the city, which serves as a humanitarian operations hub for all five Darfur states.

The Sudanese army and the RSF have been engaged in conflict since mid-April 2023, resulting in more than 20,000 deaths and nearly 15 million displaced people and refugees, according to the United Nations and local authorities. However, research by American universities has estimated the death toll at approximately 130,000.

READ: Thousands flee North Darfur following attack blamed on RSF