Shelling of Zamzam camp leaves at least 38 dead in December – MSF

December 20, 2024 (ZAMZAM CAMP) – Repeated shelling by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since December 1 has killed at least 38 people, including children, in Zamzam camp, the largest displacement camp in Sudan, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Wednesday. The attacks have disrupted vital humanitarian aid and forced MSF to suspend operations at one of its clinics in the camp.

Over the past three weeks, MSF teams at their field hospital in Zamzam have treated 44 people injured by the shelling, including children as young as four years old with severe trauma. The medical charity also reported receiving 14 people dead on arrival or who succumbed to their injuries shortly after. Local sources reported at least another 24 deaths in the camp directly linked to the shelling, bringing the total to at least 38.

“The violence disrupts the already-limited humanitarian aid available on-site,” MSF said. The suspension of activities at their clinic in the southern part of the camp, which provided nutritional care for malnourished children, is particularly concerning given the existing malnutrition crisis in Zamzam.

MSF continues to provide lifesaving medical care in the camp despite the ongoing violence. The organization is also supporting hospitals in North Darfur with medical supplies as communities there face escalating attacks targeting residential areas.

MSF called on all warring parties to respect the protection of civilians, medical staff, and humanitarian workers and to ensure unhindered access to humanitarian aid. “As this conflict reaches new levels of brutality,” the statement said, “unhindered access for humanitarian aid must be ensured to avert further suffering and loss of life.”