Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) – “We have taken control of Zamzam to protect civilians and medical personnel and we are ready to receive convoys of humanitarian aid,” the militiamen of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said in a statement announcing that they had captured the Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur (western Sudan) yesterday, 13 April.
Zamzam, which according to the United Nations is home to more than 500,000 refugees, is one of three large camps for displaced persons on the outskirts of El-Facher, the region's capital, which is under army control (Sudan Armed Forces) but has been surrounded by the RSF for two years.
According to a spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), an armed group aligned with the SAF, led by Minni Arko Minawi, at least 450 people were killed in the assault on the camp, while other sources claim that at least 70,000 displaced people fled Zamzam.
The International Relief Organization (IRO), which manages the Zamzam camp, said the RSF attacked the camp perimeter on the evening of 11 April after shelling it for hours. According to the IRO, the militiamen destroyed hundreds of houses and the main market before attacking the field hospital, killing nine staff members, including a doctor. The Sudanese Doctors Network confirmed the killing of 10 members of the medical staff in North Darfur in the past two days, six of whom were killed by RSF forces in Zamzam camp, in addition to the killing of the director of the hospital in Um Kedda, another town attacked by the militants. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 14/4/2025)
AFRICA/DR CONGO - Maniema province is also suffering the consequences of the war in neighboring North Kivu
AFRICA/DR CONGO - In war-torn Kivu the Bishop of Butembo-Beni urges the faithful not to lose faith
AFRICA/CONGO RD - Appeal by Butembo university students: “Enough 30 years of war imposed on us to plunder our country's resources”
AFRICA/DR CONGO - “Insecurity prevails in Bukavu where not a night goes by without three or four bodies found on the street”
ASIA/MYANMAR - Palm Sunday and Holy Week among the rubble: “Christ is among the displaced”