Fighting between the army and rival paramilitaries in Sudan has pushed the Zamzam camp near El-Fasher into famine, according to a UN-backed assessment released Thursday.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report indicates that “famine is ongoing in July 2024 in Zamzam camp,” driven primarily by conflict and lack of humanitarian access.
Aid group Plan International stated that the IPC’s findings confirm their fears: children in Sudan, after enduring over a year of brutal conflict, are now dying of hunger.
Zamzam, a North Darfur displacement camp, previously housed about 300,000 people but has swelled to half a million due to the violence in El-Fasher, the only major city in western Darfur not under paramilitary control, according to Mohammed Qazilbash of Plan International.
Fighting erupted in April 2023 after a failed integration plan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, with both sides accused of war crimes, including targeting civilians and blocking humanitarian aid.
The conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced over 10 million people, making it “one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory,” according to the UN. Most relief operations have been suspended due to ongoing violence.
The IPC report highlights that El-Fasher airport is inaccessible for humanitarian deliveries, noting that the last food assistance to Zamzam camp occurred in April.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported last month that 63,000 children in Zamzam camp are malnourished, with 10 percent suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Save the Children warned that “time is running out to keep children alive in Sudan,” criticizing both conflict parties and the international community for failing to end the fighting repeatedly.