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Information Blackout in Sudan: Zamzam Camp Overrun by RSF

Recent events in Sudan have led to a troubling information vacuum following an assault on the Zamzam refugee camp by militiamen over the weekend. Families desperately searching for news regarding their loved ones are grappling with a severe lack of communication.

As international leaders prepared for peace discussions in London aimed at urging the backers of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army to reach a ceasefire, the RSF intensified its offensive, culminating in the takeover of Zamzam after weeks of tightening its grip.

Advocates for humanitarian aid have emphasized that the scarcity of news about the ongoing violence, which has reportedly claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians, underscores the pressing need for the peace talks to focus on restoring communication channels. This restoration is crucial for enabling affected communities to warn each other, access healthcare, and document human rights violations.

Altahir Hashim, whose family was residing in Zamzam, conveyed the despair of the situation, stating, “Zamzam as an IDP [internally displaced persons] camp no longer exists. The RSF has completely taken over the camp – engaging in killings, rapes, and various atrocities. Communication is severely disrupted, and I have been unable to connect with my family.”

On Friday, a tragic incident occurred when nine medical workers from Relief International lost their lives during the RSF raid. Additionally, the Sudanese American Physicians Association (Sapa) reported that a manager of a children’s health center was also killed in the attack.

Medical organization Médecins Sans Frontières indicated that in just 48 hours, approximately 10,000 individuals had arrived at Tawila, a nearby displacement camp, suffering from severe dehydration and exhaustion.

For two decades, Zamzam has been a refuge for individuals displaced during conflicts in the 2000s associated with the Sudanese army and the Janjaweed militias, which were later incorporated into the RSF. The camp’s population has surged to around 700,000 during the present civil war as displaced persons seek safety from other areas of the Darfur region.

Hashim is collaborating with a group of Darfuris residing abroad who have initiated fundraising to provide satellite phones and walkie-talkies, aiming to help locals maintain communication amidst emergencies.

He noted that the communication blackout complicates the process for individuals to receive financial support from relatives abroad through mobile banking systems.

The limited reports emerging from Zamzam have largely been based on satellite communications, including imagery and internet access via Starlink, which operates through satellites rather than conventional communication towers.

However, these satellite services are often unreliable and prohibitively expensive, leaving many activists in Darfur without access while some manage to use these tools for communication.

In a video shared by the North Darfur Observatory for Human Rights, individuals fleeing Zamzam were seen carrying their belongings on camels and donkeys.

Footage reportedly filmed by RSF fighters has surfaced, depicting the violence alongside their entry into Zamzam in vehicles armed with heavy artillery amidst scenes of destruction.

Shayna Lewis from the US-based organization Preventing & Ending Mass Atrocities (Paema) highlighted the dire conditions, stating, “We have witnessed reports of civilians being hunted and executed in the streets of Zamzam, yet reliable communication remains elusive due to the absence of service networks and the sporadic nature of Starlink access, which can be severed by combatants at any moment.”

Paema has emphasized that the discussions in London should prioritize reinstating communication as a vital step toward alleviating suffering in Sudan.

Sapa, with operations in El Fasher, reported that its last communication from teams in Zamzam on Sunday confirmed: “Zamzam is under the control of the RSF.”

Khalid Mishain of the Youth Citizens Observers Network, a Sudanese human rights group, expressed concern about losing contact with their observers in the region since the attack, noting that the communication shutdown hinders human rights documentation efforts throughout the conflict.

“Individuals are required to document information manually and then travel to areas with communication access to relay that information to us,” Mishain explained. “Civilians are enduring significant hardships with little awareness in the outside world, and those attempting to document such realities face severe risks due to the communication blackout.”

Source
www.theguardian.com