A famine-stricken camp for displaced families in Sudan’s Darfur region has suffered yet another deadly blow, with at least 40 people killed in a paramilitary assault that the United Nations condemned as an outrage against civilians.
The attack took place Monday at Abu Shouk, a camp on the outskirts of el-Fasher, North Darfur’s provincial capital, and was carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to the Emergency Response Rooms, an activist network monitoring the civil war. Nineteen others were wounded in the assault.
“Once again, civilians are paying the highest price in this conflict,” said Sheldon Yett, the U.N.’s resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan. “Displacement camps and other places of refuge for civilians must not be targeted.”
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Abu Shouk, along with nearby Zamzam camp, has been repeatedly targeted during the war, including an April offensive that left hundreds dead and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes. Both camps are now gripped by famine.
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The RSF, locked in a protracted siege of el-Fasher in its bid to capture the city, has tightened its blockade, severely restricting food, water, and medical supplies. On Monday, Sudan’s military and allied rebel groups reportedly repelled a major RSF push into the city.
Yett warned that the ongoing siege and strikes have left residents “with extremely limited access to food, safe water and medical care,” adding that more than 60 deaths from malnutrition were reported in a single week, an “extremely worrying” sign.
The World Food Program (WFP) has been unable to send aid by land to el-Fasher for over a year. The agency estimates that 300,000 people are “trapped, hungry, and running out of time” without urgent intervention.
“Everyone in el-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive,” said Eric Perdison, WFP’s regional director for eastern and southern Africa. “People’s coping mechanisms have been completely exhausted by over two years of war. Without immediate and sustained access, lives will be lost.”
Sudan’s civil war occurred in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the leaders of the military and the RSF. Since then, the conflict has displaced roughly 14 million people, pushed parts of the country into famine, and killed thousands. Darfur has been especially ravaged, with reports of mass killings, sexual violence, and other atrocities. The International Criminal Court is currently investigating possible crimes against humanity tied to the fighting.
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