Sudan: paramilitary assault on Darfur famine-hit camp leaves dozens dead

A devastating wave of attacks by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on famine-stricken displacement camps in Darfur has left more than 100 civilians dead, according to the United Nations.

Survivors describe a scene of horror as the RSF intensified its campaign to seize control of the last army-held city in the region, El-Fasher. The assaults, which began Friday (11 April) and continued into Sunday, targeted Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps — home to over 700,000 internally displaced people. Among the dead are at least 20 children and nine humanitarian workers, including doctors and aid drivers. Residents say the camps are encircled, escape routes blocked, and medical supplies depleted. “People are wounded, and there is no medicine or hospital to save them. They are dying from bleeding,” said one resident of Zamzam camp, in a voice message to the BBC. “Death is everywhere.”

The RSF claims it has “liberated” Zamzam from Sudan’s army, which it accuses of using civilians as human shields. However, survivors and international observers allege the attacks were deliberate and targeted health facilities. Relief International, the last provider of healthcare in Zamzam, confirmed the killings of its staff, calling it “a targeted attack on all health infrastructure in the region.” The violence comes as Sudan nears the two-year mark of a brutal civil war that has displaced over 12 million people and plunged an estimated 25 million people — or nearly half of the country’s population — into extreme hunger. The UN has labeled it the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.