Devastating assaults on a displacement camp sheltering hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Sudan’s civil war have entered a third day, residents have told the BBC, describing the situation as “catastrophic” and “dire.”
The attacks have targeted Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps near the city of el-Fasher in Sudan’s western Darfur region. These camps, home to over 700,000 people, are already suffering from famine-like conditions.
More than 100 civilians, including at least 20 children and members of a medical team, have been killed since the attacks began late last week, according to the United Nations. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of carrying out the assaults.
On Sunday, the RSF claimed it had taken control of Zamzam but denied responsibility for any atrocities, calling reports of violence against civilians “staged.”
Voices from the Ground: Horror and Desperation
Contacting the BBC on Sunday, a resident of Zamzam camp, Mustafa, 34, who worked in a community kitchen, described the horror:
“Those who were working in the community kitchen have been killed, and the doctors who were part of the initiative to reopen the hospital were also killed,” he said in a WhatsApp audio message.
“My uncle and my cousin were killed. People are wounded, and there is no medicine or hospital to save them — they are dying from bleeding.
The shelling is still ongoing, and we are expecting more attacks in the morning.”
He added that the camp was completely surrounded, with all escape routes cut off.
Another resident, Wasir, painted a similarly bleak picture:
“Nothing [was] left in Zamzam.
A large number of civilians have fled, and we are still trying to leave, but we haven’t succeeded. All the roads are blocked, and we have children with us.
Death is everywhere. As I speak to you now from inside the trench, there is shelling happening.”
Some residents have managed to escape and walk the 15km (9 miles) to el-Fasher. North Darfur Health Minister Ibrahim Khater confirmed the exodus, saying:
“I am observing many people walking from Zamzam — mostly children, women, and the elderly.
Some were injured, tired, and saying they lost their family — dead on the streets. The situation is catastrophic.”
International Outrage and Condemnation
The UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, expressed deep concern:
“This represents yet another deadly and unacceptable escalation in a series of brutal attacks on displaced people and aid workers.”
The US State Department also condemned the violence, stating it was “deeply alarmed by reports of attacks by the RSF on Zamzam and Abu Shouk,” and added:
“We condemn the RSF’s attacks on the most vulnerable of civilians.”
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who is set to host a conference on Sudan, called the reports of “indiscriminate RSF attacks” “shocking.”
Aid Workers Targeted in Brutal Assault
Relief International, the last remaining health provider in Zamzam camp, said nine of its staff members — including doctors, referral drivers, and a team leader — were killed in what it described as a targeted attack by RSF fighters.
“We understand that this was a targeted attack on all health infrastructure in the region to prevent access to healthcare for internally displaced people.
We are horrified that one of our clinics was also part of this attack — along with other health facilities in el-Fasher.”
Kashif Shafique, the charity’s Sudan director, told the BBC’s Newshour that survivors had recounted how RSF fighters entered a safety bunker and executed the nine victims, shooting them in the head and chest.
RSF Denies Responsibility, Blames Sudanese Army
On Saturday, the RSF denied killing civilians, claiming the violent scenes in Zamzam were fabricated. By Sunday, they declared a “successful liberation” of the camp, alleging the Sudanese army had been using Zamzam as a military base and employing civilians as human shields.
Satellite Evidence and a Dire Humanitarian Crisis
An analysis by the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab described the assault as the most significant ground-based attack on Zamzam since violence erupted in el-Fasher in spring 2024. The team also reported extensive arson damage across the center, south, and southeast areas of the camp.
The civil war in Sudan, now entering its second year, has sparked the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 12 million people and plunging many into hunger and poverty.
The conflict began on 15 April 2023, as a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the RSF, after a breakdown in political negotiations between the two groups.
El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, remains the last major city in Darfur under army control and has been under RSF siege for nearly a year.
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