February 11, 2005 (EL FASHER) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a violent attack on the Zamzam camp in North Darfur on Tuesday, committing widespread abuses against displaced people and forcing thousands to flee towards the city of El Fasher.
Since the beginning of December, the RSF has targeted the camp, located about 12 kilometres southwest of El Fasher, with heavy artillery fire, killing dozens of displaced people and forcing thousands to flee.
The RSF justifies its targeting of the camp, which is facing famine and shelters nearly two million displaced people, by claiming that the Joint Force withdrew from El Fasher into the camp and used the displaced as human shields. The Joint Force vehemently denies this claim.
The governor of the Darfur region, Minni Arko Minawi, said in a Facebook post that “The RSF militia violated Zamzam camp.” He strongly condemned the attack, calling on the United Nations and the African Union to demand that countries support what he called to stop terrorism and genocide.
Eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune that a large RSF force infiltrated deep into Zamzam camp from the areas of Golo, Shaqra, and Saluma, opening fire randomly on gatherings of displaced people. They reported that the forces thoroughly looted and burned the market, in addition to raiding the homes of displaced people and civilian cars, before leaving the camp after the army and the Joint Force arrived, who led battles against the attacking forces in the western part of the camp.
Platforms affiliated with the RSF broadcast videos of its soldiers celebrating inside Zamzam camp, where they set fire to a camp that was used by forces of the Gathering of Sudan Liberation Forces, led by Tahir Hajar who is not part of the Joint Force.
The attack launched by the RSF on the camp led to the flight of large numbers of displaced people towards the city of El Fasher, which is also witnessing bloody confrontations between the warring parties in North Darfur.
Doctors Without Borders expressed its deep concern about the safety of its staff and hundreds of thousands of people who are already living under bombardment and hunger in Zamzam camp.
It said that the Doctors Without Borders field hospital in Zamzam is not equipped to treat injuries requiring surgery resulting from shocks.
“It has now become impossible to send critical patients to the Saudi hospital in El Fasher due to the violent clashes on the road,” it added.
The organization urged the warring parties to respect health facilities and healthcare workers and to protect civilians.
Over the past two weeks, the RSF has attacked dozens of villages in the western countryside of El Fasher, leading to the displacement of their residents towards the Zamzam camp. The attack came as part of the RSF’s plans to tighten the noose on the city of El Fasher, which it seeks to control as the last site of central authority in the Darfur region.
