Sudan18 December, 20252 min read
RSF Massacres Over 1,000 Civilians in Darfur's Zamzam Camp, Rapes and Starves Survivors, UN Says
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Rapid Support Forces killed over 1,000 civilians in Zamzam displacement camp RSF seized Zamzam during a three-day assault from April 11–13
5 outlets told this the same way.
Zamzam camp assault report
A UN Human Rights Office report accuses the Rapid Support Forces of massacring more than 1,000 civilians during a three-day assault on the Zamzam IDP camp in North Darfur in April 2024. The report documents house-to-house killings and attacks on markets, schools, hospitals and places of worship.
“The UN Human Rights Office released a report accusing the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of massacring more than 1,000 civilians in a three‑day assault on the Zamzam IDP camp in North Darfur in April 2024.”
It cites at least 1,013 civilian deaths, including 319 summary executions. The report says more than 400,000 of the camp's roughly 500,000 residents were displaced again after the assault.
Report on sexual violence
A report documents pervasive sexual violence, stating survivors were subjected to rape, gang rape, and sexual slavery both during the attack and while fleeing along exit routes. The UN human rights office says the sexual violence was used systematically. Another source quantifies the pattern, reporting at least 104 survivors affected and noting many victims were from the Zaghawa community.
Zamzam camp displacement
The UN report says the camp was blockaded for months, with food supplies cut off and mass starvation resulting.
“More than 400,000 of the camp’s roughly 500,000 residents were displaced again.”
Zamzam — once home to over 500,000 displaced people — suffered large-scale displacement when survivors fled the violence, and one briefing notes that more than 400,000 residents were displaced again after the assault.
UN response to Zamzam
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and other UN officials described Zamzam as part of a persistent pattern of serious violations of international humanitarian law and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
International mediators are pressing for an end to a war that has produced catastrophic humanitarian consequences since April 2023.
Zamzam and conflict fallout
Reporting places the Zamzam findings amid ongoing political and military developments.
“Separately, local media reported an RSF drone strike on the Al Mogran–Atbara power station that killed two civil defence personnel, damaged transformers and caused electricity outages in Khartoum, Port Sudan and other states.”
thenationalnews notes US and Saudi efforts toward a humanitarian truce and diplomatic activity by army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
It also highlights an RSF drone strike on a power station that disrupted electricity in multiple cities.
These details broaden the immediate humanitarian alarm into operational and diplomatic consequences.