After warnings of famine, Sudan denies food shortages in Zamzam camp and accuses the Rapid Support Forces of obstructing aid

This denial comes at a time when a relief organization warned of the risk of a severe shortage of food for malnourished children in the camp.

“Our teams only have enough therapeutic food to treat malnourished children in Zamzam camp in Sudan for another two weeks,” MSF said in a post on its X platform on Sunday.

She stressed that there is a risk of a severe shortage of food for the treatment of malnourished children in the Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons in North Darfur State, Sudan.

Earlier this year, Doctors Without Borders reported that one child dies every two hours in the Zamzam camp, which houses half a million people.

But the Sudanese government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission said on Sunday that talk of a famine in the camp “is completely untrue and inconsistent with the elements and conditions that must be met to declare famines.”

A global hunger watchdog reported on Thursday that there was a famine in the Zamzam camp, indicating that it was likely to continue there until at least October.

Experts and UN officials say a famine designation could lead to a UN Security Council resolution allowing agencies to move relief supplies across borders to those in need, but Sudanese officials say a famine declaration could be a pretext for international intervention in the country’s affairs.

The Sudanese government has accused the Rapid Support Forces, which are fighting the army, of imposing what it said was a siege on the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, leading to shortages of food and aid. El Fasher is the last stronghold in the Darfur region not yet under the control of the Rapid Support Forces.

The Rapid Support Forces on Friday declared its full solidarity with those suffering from famine and reiterated its offer to work with the United Nations to facilitate the delivery of aid.

Source: Swiss Info