Nine aid workers killed, over 100 civilians feared dead in Darfur attack, UN says

April 12, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – Nine humanitarian workers were killed and more than 100 civilians, including over 20 children, are feared dead following attacks on displacement camps and a town in Sudan’s North Darfur region, the top U.N. aid official in the country said on Saturday.

Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, said she was “appalled and gravely alarmed” by reports from the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps and Al Fasher town.

Her statement cited reports that forces affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched coordinated ground and air attacks from multiple directions on Friday. The assaults triggered intense clashes with “catastrophic consequences for civilians,” Nkweta-Salami said.

The nine confirmed fatalities were staff of an international non-governmental organization operating one of the few remaining health posts in the Zamzam camp, she added.

“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,” Nkweta-Salami stated.

She strongly condemned the attacks, demanding accountability for those responsible and calling them “grave violations of international humanitarian law” and “abhorrent and inexcusable.”

The Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps shelter more than 700,000 people, many previously displaced by violence. “These families… are once again caught in the crossfire, with nowhere safe to go. This must end now,” Nkweta-Salami urged, calling for safe passage for those fleeing.

She demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities, referencing U.N. Security Council Resolution 2736 which calls for an end to attacks on civilians and aid workers. Nkweta-Salami also noted that repeated efforts to gain unimpeded humanitarian access to the affected areas have so far been unsuccessful.

“As we approach the two-year mark of this devastating conflict, we are extremely alarmed by the escalating intensity of the violence,” she said. “We cannot look away from these atrocities.”