1.5K civilians feared killed in RSF Zamzam Camp massacre: The Guardian
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More than 1,500 civilians were likely killed in Sudan's Zamzam camp during a brutal RSF attack, making it one of the deadliest massacres of the conflict.
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In this April 13, 2010 file photo, Sudanese refugee children hold their writing boards while attending a local school in the refugee camp of Zamzam, on the outskirts of El Fasher, Darfur, Sudan. (AP)
More than 1,500 civilians may have been killed during a brutal attack on Sudan’s largest displacement camp in April, marking what could be the second-deadliest war crime committed during the country’s ongoing conflict.
An investigation by The Guardian has revealed harrowing accounts of mass executions and large-scale abductions during a 72-hour assault by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Zamzam camp in North Darfur. The camp had long served as a refuge for people displaced by Sudan’s protracted violence.
The attack, which took place between April 11 and 14, is believed to have claimed the lives of at least 1,500 civilians. Initial reports, including from the United Nations, had indicated “hundreds” of casualties. However, a local committee formed to investigate the assault has now confirmed a death toll exceeding 1,500, with hundreds more still unaccounted for.
Mohammed Sharif, a member of the committee and part of Zamzam’s former administrative leadership, stated that the final toll is expected to be significantly higher. “Their bodies are lying inside homes, in the fields, on roads,” Sharif told The Guardian.
Like West Darfur in 2023
The massacre at Zamzam has drawn comparisons to the mass ethnic killing that occurred in West Darfur in 2023. Eyewitnesses and researchers estimate that the number of victims could be as high as 2,000, making it one of the most violent single events in the Sudan conflict.
An atrocity expert with decades of experience in Darfur described the scale of violence as unprecedented. “Every single testimony from everyone who escaped knew family members who were killed. That’s something I’ve never seen before,” they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Abdallah Abugarda, from the UK’s Darfur Diaspora Association, reported that around 4,500 members of the organization had lost friends or relatives in the attack. He added that at least 2,000 residents of Zamzam remain missing.
Zamzam had been a place of shelter for over 20 years. “The massacre at Zamzam... is one of the most heinous crimes in recent global history. Yet no global outrage has followed,” Abugarda said.
Large numbers of women were reportedly abducted during the assault. More than 20 are known to have been taken to Nyala, an RSF stronghold about 160 km from Zamzam.
Humanitarian alarm sounded
Claire Nicolet, deputy head of emergencies at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), described the victims of the Zamzam massacre as “one of the most vulnerable people on earth.” She said survivors endured widespread sexual violence, looting, and brutal conditions in displacement sites after fleeing the camp.
Last month, the International Criminal Court said it had “reasonable grounds” to believe war crimes and crimes against humanity were being committed in Darfur. The RSF and allied militias have been widely accused of targeting non-Arab ethnic groups in the region.
In Geneina, capital of West Darfur, more than 10,000 people, mainly from the Masalit community, are believed to have been killed between April and June 2023. In a single episode of violence in November, more than 800 people were reportedly killed in a suburb of El Geneina, according to UN data.
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