Khartoum: Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Sunday that they had taken control of a major displacement camp in North Darfur following a four-day offensive that, according to humanitarian agencies and local officials, has resulted in hundreds of casualties.
The Zamzam camp, one of the largest shelters for people displaced by Sudan’s ongoing civil war, became the focal point of intense fighting. Together with the nearby Abu Shouk camp, the area is home to roughly 700,000 displaced individuals. Aid groups report widespread destruction, including damage to shelters, markets, and essential healthcare facilities.
The RSF claims it targeted the camp because it was being used by what it described as "mercenary groups." However, humanitarian organizations condemned the assault as a brutal attack on civilians—many of whom are already facing starvation. Women, children, and the elderly are among those hardest hit.
Local armed groups, including the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA)—a Darfuri militia allied with Sudan’s regular army—have been engaged in battles with the RSF around al-Fashir, a key city located about 15 kilometers from Zamzam. The SLA said tens of thousands have fled the camp on foot to seek refuge in al-Fashir, overwhelming shelters and forcing people to sleep in the open without access to basic necessities like food, clean water, or medicine.
On Sunday, al-Fashir itself came under heavy shelling and ground assaults by RSF forces, according to SLA spokesperson El-Sadiq Ali El-Nour. The SLA has appealed to the Sudanese army to send reinforcements to protect the city’s estimated 1.5 million residents.
Despite RSF denials of targeting civilians, the group has faced backlash for its role in the humanitarian crisis. It accused its enemies on Saturday of fabricating media reports and staging scenes in the camp to discredit the paramilitary group. On Sunday, the RSF said it had facilitated voluntary evacuations from the area and encouraged aid agencies to intervene.
The war in Sudan began in April 2023, rooted in a fierce power struggle between the national army and the RSF. The conflict has since plunged the country deeper into chaos, displacing millions and leaving regions like Darfur in ruin as both sides fight for territorial control.
