UN condemns deadly attack on famine-hit camp in Darfur that killed 40

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CAIRO (AP) — The United Nations on Tuesday condemned an attack by a paramilitary group on a famine-hit displacement camp in Sudan's western region of Darfur, killing at least 40 people.

Monday’s attack by the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, on the Abu Shouk camp outside el-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province, also wounded 19 others, according to the Emergency Response Rooms, an activist group that tracks Sudan’s civil war.

“Once again, civilians are paying the highest price in this conflict,” Sheldon Yett, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said in a statement. “Displacement camps and other places of refuge for civilians must not be targeted.”

Abu-Shouk is one of two camps for displaced people outside el-Fasher, the military’s last stronghold in Darfur. They have repeatedly been attacked by the RSF, including a major offensive in April that killed hundreds of people and forced hundreds of thousands of others to flee. Both the Abu Shouk and Zamzam camps have been hit by famine.

The attack came as the RSF imposed a blockade on el-Fasher as they continued their yearlong attempt to seize it. On Monday, the military and its allies rebel groups repelled a major RSF offensive on the city.

Yett said that the RSF siege and attacks have left el-Fasher’s population “with extremely limited access to food, safe water and medical care.” More than 60 people reportedly died of malnutrition in one week in an “extremely worrying” development, he said.

The World Food Program hasn’t been able to deliver aid by land to el-Fasher for more than a year. The U.N. agency warned this month that 300,000 people who are “trapped, hungry, and running out of time,” face starvation.

“Everyone in el-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive,” said Eric Perdison, WFP’s regional director for eastern and southern Africa. “People’s coping mechanisms have been completely exhausted by over two years of war. Without immediate and sustained access, lives will be lost.”

The attack on Abu Shouk was the latest tragedy in Sudan’s civil war, which pits the military against the RSF. The war broke out in April 2023 over power struggle between commanders of the warring sides. The fighting has devastated the northeastern African country, forcing about 14 million people out of their homes, and pushing some areas into famine.

Thousands of people were killed in the conflict that has been marked with atrocities, including mass killings and rape, particularly in Darfur. The International Criminal Court is investigating potential crimes against humanity in the conflict.