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Escalating Violence in Sudan’s Darfur Region Claims Lives Amid Famine Crisis
In a disturbing escalation of violence, Sudan’s infamous paramilitary group has launched a brutal two-day offensive on camps housing famine-stricken displaced persons, resulting in over 100 fatalities, including 20 children and nine humanitarian workers, according to a U.N. official on Saturday.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), along with affiliated militias, targeted the Zamzam and Abu Shorouk camps and the nearby city of El-Fasher, which serves as the provincial capital of North Darfur. This wave of violence commenced late Friday, reported Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.
El-Fasher remains under military control, which has been engaged in a protracted conflict with the RSF since the outbreak of civil war in Sudan nearly two years ago. The United Nations estimates the conflict has claimed more than 24,000 lives, although activists suggest the actual toll may be significantly higher.
The situation deteriorated further on Saturday, with renewed attacks. Nkweta-Salami disclosed that the fatalities included nine aid workers who were operating in one of the few remaining healthcare facilities at the Zamzam camp.
“This represents yet another deadly and unacceptable escalation in a series of brutal attacks on displaced individuals and humanitarian personnel in Sudan since the conflict began nearly two years ago,” she stated.
While specific identities of the aid workers were not disclosed by Nkweta-Salami, the Sudanese Doctors’ Union reported the deaths of six medical staff from Relief International, who were killed when their facility in Zamzam came under siege on Friday. Among the victims were Dr. Mahmoud Babaker Idris, a physician, and Adam Babaker Abdallah, the regional head of the organization. The Union condemned the RSF for this “criminal and barbaric act.”
Relief International expressed its profound sorrow in a statement, confirming that its nine workers lost their lives in a “targeted attack on all health infrastructure in the region,” which included their clinic.
Reports indicate that the central market in Zamzam and hundreds of makeshift homes within the camp were devastated in this onslaught. The violence has also displaced around 2,400 individuals from the camps and El-Fasher, as noted by the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees, a local organization in Darfur.
According to Nkweta-Salami, Zamzam and Abu Shouk collectively host over 700,000 displaced persons who have been compelled to leave their homes due to ongoing conflicts in the region.
Recent developments also highlight that the Sudanese military has regained control over Khartoum, marking a significant victory in the conflict. However, the RSF maintains dominance in the majority of Darfur as well as in other territories.
The two camps are among five locations in Sudan identified by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global entity monitoring hunger crises, as experiencing famine conditions. The ongoing war has precipitated the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, leaving approximately 25 million people – or half of Sudan’s population – facing severe food insecurity.
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