According to independent food security experts, the civil war in Sudan has led to famine conditions in a camp housing approximately 500 000 displaced people near the besieged Darfur city of el-Fasher.
The Famine Review Committee (FRC) said the 16-month conflict restricted aid deliveries, noting the devastating impact of the escalating violence in el-Fasher.
The Zamzam camp's population has surged since April. The ongoing conflict, a power struggle between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has resulted in the world's largest humanitarian crisis, displacing 10 million people.
US-mediated peace talks, scheduled to begin in two weeks, are now uncertain. The RSF has agreed to participate in Geneva, but it is unclear if the army will join following an alleged assassination attempt on military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on Wednesday.
The FRC stated that conflict and lack of humanitarian access were the main drivers of famine in Zamzam camp, both of which could be addressed with political will.
The IPC's latest assessment indicates that 25.6 million people, or 54% of the population, are experiencing acute food insecurity, with 14 areas at risk of famine.
Famine conditions require at least 20% of households to face an extreme lack of food, 30% of children to be acutely malnourished, and two out of every 10 000 people to die daily from starvation or malnutrition-related diseases.
Since April, the RSF has been trying to capture el-Fasher from the army, the only city in Darfur still under military control. According to the FRC, around 320 000 people have fled el-Fasher, with between 150 000 and 200 000 seeking refuge in the Zamzam camp for security, basic services, and food.
The main market in Zamzam camp operates sporadically, and prices for essential goods have skyrocketed; 63% for cooking oil; 190% for sugar; 67% for millet; and, 75% for rice – illustrating the dire conditions in the camp.
Barrett Alexander, from Mercy Corps, warned that the situation in el-Fasher, especially in Zamzam camp, was "merely the tip of the iceberg." He noted that widespread deaths have likely occurred by the time famine is officially declared.
A recent Mercy Corps assessment revealed that nine out of 10 children in Central and South Darfur are suffering from life-threatening malnutrition.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), one of the last aid groups in el-Fasher, warned that conditions would deteriorate further if the blockade on humanitarian aid was not lifted. MSF’s Stéphane Doyon stated that their trucks, carrying therapeutic food and medical supplies, left N’Djamena in Chad over six weeks ago but have yet to reach el-Fasher.
Both warring sides have been accused of blocking and looting aid, which they deny.
The MSF lorries contain supplies for children in Zamzam camp and surgical supplies for the last operational hospital in el-Fasher.
The Saudi Hospital, which performs surgeries, was shelled on Monday, killing three staff members and injuring at least 25 people. The incident shows a lack of precautions to protect them.