Doctors Without Borders says increased fighting in and around Zamzam camp has made it too dangerous to operate.
Doctors Without Borders has said it is suspending its work in a famine-stricken camp for displaced people in Sudan’s North Darfur region, as an increase in violent attacks has made it too dangerous to operate.
In a statement on Monday, the medical charity – known by its French-language acronym MSF – said fighting in and around Zamzam camp near the town of el-Fasher had made it “impossible … to continue providing medical assistance”.
“Despite widespread starvation and immense humanitarian needs, we have no choice but to take the decision to suspend all our activities in the camp, including the MSF field hospital,” the group said.
MSF was one of the few humanitarian groups still working in the camp, which houses around half a million people displaced by Sudan’s devastating 22-month civil war.
Health workers at the organisation’s field hospital in Zamzam had helped treat people wounded in attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) this month, as well as provided care to thousands of malnourished children.
“Halting our project in the midst of a worsening disaster in Zamzam is a heartbreaking decision,” said Yahya Kalilah, MSF’s Sudan country director.
“The sheer proximity of the violence, great difficulties in sending supplies, the impossibility to send experienced staff for adequate support, and uncertainty regarding routes out of the camp for our colleagues and civilians leave us with little choice.”
We’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend our activities in Zamzam camp, North Darfur, Sudan. Violence has engulfed the camp, which hosts around 500,000 people.
We urge all armed actors in the area to protect civilians..
The details: https://t.co/7zb32yoe5d
— MSF International (@MSF) February 24, 2025
The war in Sudan broke out between the RSF and the Sudanese military in April 2023.
Both parties have been accused of war crimes as the United Nations says the violence has killed tens of thousands, forced 14 million people to flee their homes and spurred a humanitarian crisis.
On February 11, the RSF stormed Zamzam, triggering two days of clashes with the army and allied armed groups and forcing about 10,000 families to flee, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).
MSF said its teams had treated 139 patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds in its field hospital so far this month. But 11 people – including five children – died because the facility lacked the necessary equipment.
The organisation also said its ambulances were targeted in recent months.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday of a “further escalation” after the RSF and its allies agreed to form a parallel government.
Guterres’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN chief was “deeply concerned” by Sunday’s announcement. “This further escalation in the conflict … deepens the fragmentation of the country,” Dujarric said.
The RSF-led government is not expected to receive widespread recognition, with the group accused of carrying out war crimes, including genocide.
But it is a sign that the splintering of Sudan could be cementing as the RSF focuses on the western region of Darfur while it loses ground elsewhere.