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UNITED NATIONS, May 02 (IPS) - After over two years of extended warfare in Sudan, humanitarian organizations have expressed fears of an imminent collapse as widespread hunger, displacement, and insecurity ravages the population. With tensions between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) having reached a new peak in 2025, it is imperative that Sudanese communities in the most crisis-affected areas have unfettered access to life-saving aid.
Earlier in April, local sources had confirmed instances of renewed violence in the Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps, both of which have been conflict hotspots since the beginning of the Sudanese Civil War. According to statements from The General Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees advocacy group, due to indiscriminate shootings, arson, and shellings from the RSF, hundreds were left “dead or wounded”, with the majority of the victims being women and young children.
The United Nations (UN) Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Clementine Nkweta-Salami informed reporters that there were over 100 civilian deaths across both displacement camps, with over 20 children and 9 aid workers having been killed. According to Relief International, the assaults also led to the destruction of hundreds of residential structures, medical facilities, and the Zamzam marketplace. Additionally, many residents remain trapped in the besieged camps with no way of escaping.
“This represents yet another deadly and unacceptable escalation in a series of brutal attacks on displaced people and aid workers in Sudan since the onset of this conflict nearly two years ago,” said Nkweta-Salami. “Zamzam and Abu Shouk are some of the largest displacement camps in Darfur, sheltering more than 700,000 people who have fled cycles of violence over the years. These families — many of whom have already been displaced multiple times — are once again caught in the crossfire, with nowhere safe to go.”
Local sources also confirmed that the RSF-allied militia abducted nearly 50 Zamzam camp residents and about 40 aid personnel. The UN estimates that nearly 400,000 civilians have fled the two El Fasher camps in the later half of April, with the Zamzam camp having been almost emptied. According to the Office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, many of these displaced civilians are moving toward remote, secluded areas with little access to clean food, water, or healthcare services, such as Tawila and Jebel Marra.
“On April 12 and 13, our team in Tawila saw more than 10,000 people fleeing from Zamzam and nearby areas. They arrived in an advanced state of dehydration, exhaustion, and stress. They have nothing but the clothes they’re wearing, nothing to eat, nothing to drink. They sleep on the ground under the trees. Several people told us about family members left behind—lost during the escape, injured, or killed,” said Marion Ramstein, an emergency field coordinator in North Darfur who is working with Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Humanitarian organizations have described the displaced Sudanese people’s flow of movement as unpredictable, sudden, and massive. Due to the sheer scale of displaced persons, host communities and shelters have been overwhelmed, reporting strains on healthcare services, water infrastructures, and food availability.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), famine has been declared in 10 areas across Sudan, with 17 other areas at risk of imminent famine. Hunger has also reached “catastrophic levels”, with more than half of the population, roughly 25 million people, dependent on humanitarian assistance.
“In the past, we had three to four meals per day. For the past two years, giving one meal a day is a miracle,” said Hawa, a displaced mother of three who resided in the Zamzam camp. Although the UN and its partners have been on the frontlines of the crisis in North Darfur, an immediate scale up of resources and services is essential to ensure that the hunger crisis isn’t exacerbated.
Following the escalation of hostilities in December 2024, MSF began distributing food parcels as a part of their malnutrition treatment program. Hoping to target families consisting of young children and breastfeeding mothers, MSF has been monitoring the hunger crisis as the economic downturns in Sudan continue to worsen food insecurity.
“In order to reduce instances where the child's therapeutic food is divided amongst the hungry relatives, we provide a family ration for a duration of two months. This allows the child to receive the full course of their nutrition therapy while increasing the nutrition situation of the whole family,” said Hunter McGovern, MSF’s food distribution coordinator in South Darfur.
“During our distributions, we found that the average family size is much larger than what we had initially planned for—sometimes as many as ten people per household. This underscores just how critical the food shortage is and how much more assistance is required to meet the real needs of people.”
The current supply of humanitarian aid for displaced families in Sudan is overstretched due to rapidly growing needs and deteriorating security conditions. Additionally, as the rainy season approaches, humanitarian experts have projected that the crisis will compound significantly.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), alongside malnutrition, Sudanese people suffer from widespread levels of protracted disease and conflict-related injuries. More than two-thirds of Sudan’s states have reported 3 or more disease outbreaks at a single time, with cholera, dengue, measles, and malaria running rampant. Heavy rainfall is expected to disrupt vaccination campaigns and hamper aid deliveries.
“The humanitarian response is faltering as warring parties block aid, insecurity grows, and rain is expected to wash away critical roads,” said Samuel Sileshi, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency coordinator for Darfur. “Last year, floods destroyed roads around Mornei bridge, a vital link for aid from Chad. With the rainy season approaching, these roads will soon be impassable again.”
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