Statement on attacks on the famine-affected Zamzam camp in Darfur

The attacks on the famine-affected Zamzam camp must stop

I am extremely worried about the reports of intensified shelling and violent attacks on the Zamzam camp in Darfur, leading to civilian casualties and cuts in already extremely limited humanitarian assistance. Both MSF and the World Food Programme have been forced to pause their operations in Zamzam last week due to intensified fighting. This leaves the people in this internally displaced camp without any food or medical assistance.

I am appalled to learn that the security situation is now so dire that some of the last remaining humanitarian workers have been forced to withdraw. Reports that civilians are impeded from fleeing the camp to seek security and assistance elsewhere are shocking and unacceptable. I must again remind the parties that there are rules in war, which apply always and everywhere.

We welcome the recent decision by the Sudanese Armed Forces to maintain the important Adré border crossing open and reiterate the call to keep all cross-border and crossline routes open for humanitarian assistance. It is also imperative that the UN and other international humanitarian actors are allowed to establish permanent presence in the Darfurs and other parts of Sudan where the humanitarian needs are the direst. We call upon the Rapid Support Forces to guarantee unfettered and secure humanitarian passage to humanitarian convoys and personnel. We call upon the RSF to lift the siege on Al Fasher and Zamzam. Starvation as a method of warfare is illegal according to international humanitarian law. Excessive and lengthy inspections and restrictions on travel and work permits are severely hampering humanitarian assistance and must stop.

The parties to the conflict bear a clear responsibility for the dire humanitarian situation in Zamzam and have the power to improve the lives of the civilian population trapped in the camp.

The Zamzam camp for internally displaced people has provided shelter for more than half a million Sudanese civilians that had fled their homes due to the conflict. The humanitarian situation in the camp has long been a cause for concern, with famine conditions confirmed in August last year. It has proven consistently difficult to get food aid and other necessities into the Zamzam camp and surrounding areas in the quantities needed to avoid famine. In December, it was confirmed that famine persists in Zamzam and has spread to new areas.