North Darfur imposes curfew in El Fasher after mass casualties in RSF attack on Zamzam camp
April 14, 2025 (EL FASHER) – Authorities in Sudan’s North Darfur state imposed an evening curfew on the city of El Fasher starting Tuesday, after a camp spokesperson reported more than 500 people killed or injured in an attack on the Zamzam camp blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The curfew follows the RSF’s seizure of the Zamzam camp, 12 km (7.5 miles) south of El Fasher, on Sunday, where residents reported widespread violations including killings, looting, rape and forced displacement.
The attack on the camp drew widespread condemnation from the United Nations, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
A statement from the North Darfur State Security Committee said the curfew would run from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Tuesday, according to a statement seen by Sudan Tribune. It said exemptions applied to medical facilities, emergency cases, and water tankers and urged residents to comply.
Zamzam camp spokesperson Mohamed Khamis Doudah said in a separate statement seen by Sudan Tribune that preliminary estimates indicated more than 500 people were killed or wounded, with hundreds abducted or captured. Hundreds of children and dozens of women were reported missing.
He said displaced people faced mass killings, public rape, and the wholesale burning of homes.
The spokesperson said he had confirmed reports that some people fleeing towards the town of Tawila were intercepted, and 15 were summarily executed. At the same time, more than 25 girls were taken to unknown locations, raising fears of severe abuse.
He said RSF fighters killed young men who refused to leave their families, describing the scenes as reminiscent of genocide.
The spokesperson held the RSF and allied forces responsible, saying the alleged crimes would not go unpunished. He urged the Sudanese government to intervene immediately to save the wounded, elderly, and children, saying silence amounted to complicity.
He called for an independent international inquiry and an urgent humanitarian truce to allow burials and aid delivery to the wounded.
Activists reported that El Fasher was still receiving dozens of people fleeing the Zamzam camp on Monday after the RSF overran it.
Mustafa Hamdoun, a volunteer with the El Fasher Emergency Rooms initiative, told Sudan Tribune that the city received more than 50 families on Monday morning. They found shelter in southern neighbourhoods, the Al-Daraja Al-Ula district, and El Fasher University.
He said the arrivals were exhausted after walking for two days without food or water, adding that some elderly people and children had died of starvation en route.
El Fasher faces shortages of food and safe drinking water after the RSF tightened a siege on the city this year, blocking commercial and aid convoys in what residents say is an attempt to control the city.
Food and medicine shortages prompted more than 8,000 people to flee last week towards Tawila, a town controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement faction led by Abdelwahid Nur.