Aid Halt at Sudan Camp Leaves 500,000 Hungry

The United Nations’ food agency has ceased distributing aid at the Zamzam displacement camp in Sudan due to escalating violence between warring factions, heightening fears of starvation among the camp’s half-million residents. The ongoing conflict between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has led the World Food Program (WFP) to withdraw its partners from the camp located in western Darfur.

“Urgent aid is critical to prevent thousands of families in Zamzam from facing starvation in the coming weeks,” warned Laurent Bukera, WFP’s regional director. He called upon all parties to halt hostilities and enable the flow of assistance to those in need.

The WFP has been providing food to roughly 300,000 people in the camp but has managed to reach only 60,000 amid fierce shelling and violence, which has devastated the camp’s central marketplace. This destruction has cut off many from necessary food and supplies.

Due to the intensified attacks, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders also paused its operations, including a field hospital, earlier this week in the troubled camp.

In a report to the U.N. Security Council, Edem Wosornu, the director of U.N. humanitarian operations, revealed that satellite imagery has shown the use of heavy weaponry in and around Zamzam recently. “Caught up in this intense combat, terrified civilians and aid workers were unable to evacuate the area,” she explained, reporting that the violence had claimed numerous lives, including those of two aid workers.

The announcement of a famine in Zamzam in August revealed its spread to two additional displacement camps in Darfur and the Western Nuba Mountains. Famine conditions are declared when daily deaths from starvation or malnutrition reach a critical threshold.

Since that declaration, WFP has succeeded in delivering only a single convoy of aid to the camp, a situation attributed to challenging road conditions during the rainy season, ongoing conflict, and what was termed as “purposeful obstruction” by the RSF. Leni Kinzli, a spokeswoman for WFP, lamented the impact of their decision to halt food distribution, describing it as “incredibly devastating.”

The troubled Zamzam camp, situated just 12 kilometers from El Fasher, the North Darfur capital, has been targeted by the RSF, who have been engaged in conflict with the Sudanese military since April 2023. The war has been characterized by severe human rights violations, including ethnically driven violence. The International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes in the region.

Aid organizations have repeatedly sought access to high-need areas like Zamzam, encountering resistance. Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Sudan’s lead humanitarian officer for the U.N., accused the RSF of blocking essential aid to Darfur. The RSF and their allied militias currently control a large portion of this region.

On Wednesday, Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward announced an upcoming meeting in London in April, convened by the UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The gathering will include foreign ministers from approximately 20 nations alongside international organizations to discuss support for peace in Sudan. Meanwhile, U.S. Minister-Counselor John Kelley urged the RSF to cease its attacks against displaced civilians in the Zamzam camp.