Air strikes hit famine-struck displacement camp in Sudan’s Darfur

A displaced Sudanese woman rests inside a shelter at Zamzam camp, in North Darfur, Sudan, August 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 06 August 2024
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Air strikes hit famine-struck displacement camp in Sudan’s Darfur

PORT SUDAN: Air strikes hit the Zamzam camp for displaced people in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region, two organizations said Monday, days after an assessment found that “famine is ongoing” at the camp.

“Zamzam camp in Sudan was shelled for the 1st time on Sunday night,” medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) wrote on social media platform X.

It warned that “since the warring parties have already hit hospitals 10 times & do not spare civilians, there is a clear risk of bloodshed if it is hit again.”

The General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced, an independent Sudanese aid group, said the army used fighter jets to hit the camp.

It said the strikes “injured four children and destroyed 20 homes.”

Aid group Plan International had previously estimated that the camp population had swollen to half a million people due to fighting in the nearby city of El-Fasher, which is under siege by paramilitaries.

Fighting in Sudan erupted in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and the country now faces the world’s largest displacement crisis, according to the United Nations.

Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including deliberately targeting civilians and blocking humanitarian aid.

A UN-backed assessment last week found that fighting has led to famine in Zamzam camp, with warnings that Sudan within months could see starvation exceeding that in Ethiopia in the 1980s.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) review, which is used by UN agencies, found that “famine is ongoing in July 2024 in Zamzam camp.”

“The main drivers of famine in Zamzam camp are conflict and lack of humanitarian access,” it said.

With the country plunged into what the UN called “one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory,” the vast majority of relief operations have been suspended due to the violence.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor said Monday that he hopes to seek arrest warrants soon for some of those responsible for the “nightmare” experienced by the population of Darfur.


Syrian Democratic ​Forces withdraws from east of Aleppo

Updated 57 min 8 sec ago
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Syrian Democratic ​Forces withdraws from east of Aleppo

RIYADH: Syrian Democratic Forces have withdrawn from positions east of Aleppo, according to SDF head Mazloum Abdi.

He announced Friday that SDF will withdraw from east ⁠of ‌Aleppo at ‍7 a.m. ‍local time on Saturday and redeploy them to areas ⁠east of the Euphrates, citing calls from friendly countries and ‌mediators.

Hours earlier, a US military designation had visited Deir Hafer and met with SDF officials in an apparent attempt to tamp down tensions.

The US has good relations with both sides and has urged calm. A spokesperson for the US military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shortly before Abdi’s announcement, interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa had announced issuance of a decree strengthening Kurdish rights.

A wave of displacement

Earlier in the day, hundreds of people carrying their belongings arrived in government-held areas in northern Syria ahead of the anticipated offensive by Syrian troops on territory held by Kurdish-led fighters.

Many of the civilians who fled were seen using side roads to reach government-held areas because the main highway was blocked at a checkpoint in the town of Deir Hafer controlled by the SDF.

The Syrian army said late Wednesday that civilians would be able to evacuate through the “humanitarian corridor” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and then extended the evacuation period another day, saying the SDF had stopped civilians from leaving.

There had been limited exchanges of fire between the two sides in the area before that.

Men, women and children arrived on the government side of the line in cars and pickup trucks that were packed with bags of clothes, mattresses and other belongings. They were met by local officials who directed them to shelters.

* with input from Reuters, AP