December 11, Nairobi — At least eight people were killed and seven injured on Tuesday following renewed artillery shelling by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons (IDP) in North Darfur.
Villages northwest of Zamzam are hosting hundreds of families fleeing the camp, most of whom are sleeping outside. On December 6 and 7, the United Nations said that over 730 households were displaced from Zamzam following repeated shelling on the camp that began at December.
Zamzam is Sudan’s biggest displacement camp, housing around one million people. Last week, the United States Department of State released a statement condemning in the “strongest terms” the RSF attacks on Zamzam.
The RSF are fighting to take over the city El Fasher, about 15km from Zamzam, the last stronghold of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the region. Zamzam’s population has massively increased in the last few months as fighting in El Fasher intensified. On Tuesday there was reporting of fierce fighting between the SAF and RSF in eastern and southeastern parts of the city.
On Tuesday the World Food Program said that renewed clashes in El Fasher and Zamzam were compromising food aid deliveries and other life-saving assistance. Famine was declared in Zamzam in August.