The Sudan famine crisis has reached a critical juncture as the World Food Program (WFP) suspends aid to over 500,000 people in Darfur’s Zamzam displacement camp. Intensified clashes between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have forced humanitarian groups to evacuate, leaving vulnerable families without life-saving support. Without immediate assistance, thousands of desperate families in Zamzam could starve in the coming weeks, warned WFP’s regional director Laurent Bukera in a
statement underscoring the urgency.
Recent shelling destroyed the camp’s central market, severing access to food and supplies. WFP, which previously fed 300,000 residents, reached just 60,000 this month due to security risks. Doctors Without Borders also halted operations, including its field hospital, after attacks escalated. Key challenges now include:
- Blocked aid routes by RSF forces
- Flooded roads during rainy season
- Targeted attacks on critical infrastructure
Famine conditions—defined by daily starvation deaths—were declared in Zamzam in August and have since spread to two other displacement camps. The WFP managed only one supply convoy since then, blaming RSF obstruction and logistical hurdles. The camp lies 12 kilometers south of El Fasher, a strategic city RSF seeks to control.
Sudan’s civil war, ongoing since April 2023, has been marked by ethnically driven violence and alleged war crimes. The International Criminal Court is investigating atrocities, while the UN accuses RSF of systematically blocking aid. With 24 million Sudanese facing acute hunger, this pause in Darfur threatens to deepen one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
