Doctors Without Borders reported on Monday that at least one child dies every two hours in Sudan’s Zamzam camp, one of the largest and oldest displacement camps in the country. According to Claire Nicollier, the organization’s emergency department head, the situation has drastically worsened since the conflict erupted in April of the previous year. Prior to the conflict, residents of the camp heavily relied on international support for essentials like food, healthcare, and clean water, but they have now been almost entirely abandoned.
Nicollier highlighted the dire state of child nutrition within the camp, stating that one child dies every two hours due to malnutrition in the North Darfur Zamzam camp. She emphasized that malnutrition has reached emergency levels within the camp.
The recent war in Sudan, which began on April 15, 2023, involves the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed “Hemedti” Hamdan Dagalo. This confrontation has turned Khartoum, the capital, and the Darfur region into major conflict zones. The violence has resulted in the deaths of between 13,000 and 15,000 individuals and injuries to 33,000 others. The conflict has also led to the displacement of over 5.8 million people within Sudan, with more than 1.5 million fleeing as refugees. The fighting is particularly notable for its urban setting, involving significant military assets, including the deployment of tanks and heavy weaponry by the SAF and large numbers of armed RSF personnel in Khartoum.
The origins of the conflict can be traced back to tensions between Sudan’s army and the RSF, which jointly overthrew a civilian government in a coup in October 2021. The discord escalated over plans for a new democratic transition and questions regarding the integration of the RSF into the SAF and the structure of military command. Both sides have blamed each other for initiating the conflict, with the SAF accusing the RSF of illegal mobilization and the RSF alleging that the army attempted to seize full power.
The fighting has broader implications, threatening not only Sudan’s stability but also the stability of the surrounding region, which is already volatile. The conflict could potentially influence the geopolitical dynamics between major global and regional powers, given Sudan’s strategic location bordering the Sahel, the Red Sea, and the Horn of Africa.
