Over 1,500 could have been murdered in a brutal attack on Sudan's biggest displacement camp in North Darfur. The April 11-14 assault on the Zamzam camp by paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is being labeled one of the bloodiest massacres during Sudan's current civil war.
Though initial reports had put the death toll at about 400, a committee established by locals to probe the massacres now estimates the number is more than 1,500 and rising. Survivors describe a scene of horror: houses reduced to ashes, families killed in broad daylight, and hundreds kidnapped without leaving a trace.
Most of the bodies are still lying there." "We have not been able to bury most of them," according to Mohammed Sharif, a former member of Zamzam's government.
Eyewitnesses and human rights investigators say the RSF targeted non-Arab civilians in the camp echoing the same ethnic violence that devastated Darfur in the 2000s. One atrocity expert who interviewed survivors said the level of violence was staggering. “Every single person had a family member who was killed. I’ve never encountered that before.”
There are also reports of mass abductions, with women being especially targeted. More than 20 were confirmed brought to RSF-held Nyala, although the actual figure could be much greater.
Médecins Sans Frontières' Claire Nicolet called the attack an assault on "some of the most vulnerable people on earth," adding survivors were subjected to looting, sexual assault, and deplorable conditions as they escaped.
The killings came when Western countries, led by the UK, were organizing a peace conference in London. International condemnation has been subdued despite the magnitude of violence. Campaigners claim the world is turning a blind eye to a humanitarian catastrophe akin to the worst atrocities this century.
"Zamzam is one of the worst atrocities of recent world history," according to Abdallah Abugarda of the UK Darfur Diaspora Association. "But the world hardly knows."
The International Criminal Court just stated it had "reasonable grounds" to believe war crimes and crimes against humanity are taking place throughout Darfur. But survivors and activists maintain that's not sufficient actual accountability and protection for civilians remain lacking.
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Though the RSF has been behind much of the Darfur violence, Sudan's national army has not been immune to criticism. It has been accused of indiscriminate aerial bombardments that have left civilians dead, contributing another depth of destruction to a war that has forced millions from their homes.
What occurred at Zamzam camp might be among the darkest moments in Sudan's crisis. But with no ceasefire to be seen and little international intervention, survivors fear worse may yet be to come.
