RSF seizes Zamzam camp, displacing thousands; hundreds reported dead
April 13, 2025 (EL FASHER) – Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Sunday they had seized control of the Zamzam camp in North Darfur state after three days of large-scale attacks, as violent clashes also occurred in the state capital El Fasher.
Thousands fled Zamzam camp for El Fasher after RSF fighters, reportedly led by Jedo Abenchok, began humiliating displaced residents already facing severe shortages of food, water and protection, accounts from the area indicated.
The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that 3,190 families fled Zamzam camp on Friday and Saturday, heading towards El Fasher and the Tawila locality, also in North Darfur.
Al-Sadiq Ali al-Nur, a spokesperson for the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), said about 450 people were killed and thousands injured during attacks on the Zamzam and nearby Abu Shouk camps.
Videos circulated by activists on social media showed scenes of mass displacement. Another clip appeared to show RSF fighters reaching the camp’s police station after clashes with the Sudanese army and allied groups.
Abbas Yousif Adam, North Darfur state’s commissioner for humanitarian aid, said in a press release that the RSF attack on Zamzam displaced 70,000 families.
Adam said his commission was monitoring the ongoing displacement, which has worsened the humanitarian situation. He added that water scarcity was exacerbated by the destruction of water sources in Shaqra, west of El Fasher.
The RSF destroyed groundwater sources in Abu Shouk camp and El Fasher and disrupted water supply lines to the state capital from the Golo reservoir, according to reports from the region.
The United Nations, the United States and humanitarian groups on Saturday condemned the RSF attack on Zamzam and the killing of International Rescue Committee (IRC) staff inside a medical clinic. The clinic was described as the last functioning health facility in the camp, which hosts over 500,000 displaced people.
Infrastructure destroyed
The Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights group, said RSF forces shelled Zamzam with heavy artillery, causing casualties and destroying large parts of the camp.
The group stated that an RSF ground attack on Friday “caused a new massacre in which dozens of civilians were killed,” while hundreds more were forced to flee again amid dire humanitarian conditions.
In a statement, the Emergency Lawyers accused the RSF of deliberately targeting infrastructure, including water sources, health facilities and humanitarian workers in Zamzam.
Sudan’s National Umma Party (NUP) also condemned violations against civilians in the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps. It held the RSF responsible for targeting civilians and demanded a halt to military operations near the camps and residential areas.
The NUP said it was monitoring the escalating violence and deteriorating humanitarian conditions in North Darfur following the renewed fighting in Zamzam, which resulted in civilian casualties, including medical staff.