Sun Feb 16 08:13:48 UTC 2025: ## RSF Intensifies Attacks on Darfur Refugee Camp, Exacerbating Humanitarian Crisis

**El-Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan** – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group has launched a renewed and intensified assault on the Zamzam refugee camp near el-Fasher, North Darfur, causing further suffering in a region already grappling with a devastating humanitarian crisis. At least seven people have been killed this week in attacks that have seen the camp surrounded three times in just seven days, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

The attacks, which include the use of heavy weaponry, are part of the RSF’s ongoing effort to consolidate control over Darfur, a region where they are losing ground to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the ongoing conflict. The RSF, despite losing ground in Khartoum, still largely controls Darfur and parts of neighboring Kordofan.

Zamzam camp, housing a staggering 500,000 people displaced by years of conflict, has become a focal point of the RSF’s aggression. Residents report resorting to digging underground shelters to escape the constant shelling and raids. One resident described the RSF’s actions inside the camp as “terrorizing, stealing, and killing.”

The UN has condemned the attacks, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres describing the situation in Sudan as a “catastrophe on a staggering scale and brutality,” and the UN’s top humanitarian official in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, expressing shock at the violence and the blockade of escape routes. The RSF’s actions have also severely hampered aid efforts, forcing MSF to halt a crucial nutrition program for 6,000 malnourished children. A UN-backed report from August indicated that parts of North Darfur, particularly Zamzam, are experiencing the worst form of hunger, with malnutrition rates among children reaching 34%.

The escalating violence underscores the urgent need for increased humanitarian aid and a cessation of hostilities. Secretary-General Guterres has called on world leaders to act before the start of Ramadan to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people. The situation in Zamzam and el-Fasher remains extremely precarious, with the RSF’s siege continuing to endanger hundreds of thousands of civilians.

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