New satellite imagery by the Yale University Humanitarian Research Centre reveals the scale of destruction inflicted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attack on Zamzam camp, which houses between 500,000 and 1 million people. The UN, Save the Children, and MSF have all called for urgent international action to de-escalate the situation.
Zamzam camp, housing displaced people near El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, endured heavy shelling on December 1 and 2, leaving at least five people dead and 18 injured, including children.
The Yale University Humanitarian Research Centre released satellite imagery on Tuesday showing significant damage in the camp between December 1 and 3. Photos revealed destroyed buildings, smoke from munitions, and a large crater outside a camp for displaced people.
“The damaged locations are spread out over a large area, which may be consistent with indiscriminate fire disproportionately impacting civilians”, according to the report.
The research centre noted that the residents of Zamzam camp “appear to have deconstructed temporary shelters, likely in advance of departure, and additional temporary shelters consistent with [displaced people] are newly present outside Zamzam”.
According to journalist Moamer Ibrahim, RSF continues to target critical areas, “including the livestock market and residential neighbourhoods”. He added that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Sudanese Joint Forces* have resisted RSF advances on multiple fronts.
The RSF has denied responsibility for the attack.
Local political groups and humanitarian organisations have previously raised concerns about the militarisation of displacement camps. In October, 46 organisations issued a joint statement warning that the presence of military forces in Zamzam camp endangers civilians and urged an end to military operations within displacement camps. Satellite analysis by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Centre in November also identified new defensive structures near the camp.
Condemnations
International figures have condemned the violence. Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, described the situation as “unacceptable” and called for the protection of civilians.
“It is now 232 days since the siege of El Fasher began, which has resulted in unacceptable levels of human suffering”, Nkweta-Salami said in a statement Tuesday. She expressed her alarm that NGOs operating in the camp have been forced to suspend their activities, and the camp hospital has been evacuated.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors Without Borders) reported earlier this week that the violence forced it to evacuate its hospital in Zamzam, transferring patients and medical staff to safer locations. “We’re concerned about their safety, including our staff, and we urgently call for the protection of patients, civilians, medical teams and health facilities, in Zamzam camp.”
Michel-Olivier Lacharité, MSF’s head of emergency operations, said: “Not only have people been starving, but they are also now being bombarded and forced to flee again.”
Famine
Save the Children echoed these concerns, citing rising cases of severe malnutrition, manifesting as emaciation, swelling, and skin discolouration in Zamzam camp, which they described as “the safest place in North Darfur for families and children” up until the attack on Sunday. Interim country director Mohamed Abdellatif called the situation “beyond comprehension.”
According to a Save the Children statement published earlier this week, families are resorting to consuming animal feed (ambaz), which exists of the remains of beans and sesame after oil extraction. Water scarcity has meant that camp residents are receiving just two litres of water per person daily—far below the required 20 litres.
Famine conditions, classified as Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 5, the highest level on the IPC Acute Food Insecurity scale, were confirmed in July at Zamzam camp, leaving thousands of children facing life-threatening malnutrition.
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Source: dabangasudan
