Sudan: MSF halts operations in famine-hit displacement camp

The Zamzam camp has received waves of displaced people since the war began. DW News

Violence engulfing the Zamzam camp in North Darfur forced the medical charity out, imperiling the lives of nearly half a million displaced people.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced on Friday that it is suspending operations at Sudan's largest displacement camp due to escalating violence.

"Despite widespread starvation and immense humanitarian needs, we have no choice but to take the decision to suspend all our activities in the camp, including the MSF field hospital," the global charity said, using its French acronym.

The camp in North Darfur shelters more than half a million people, according to United Nations figures.

Fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensified this month in the camp after the RSF stormed Zamzam on February 11.

Both sides have been accused of shelling health facilities and residential areas and using hunger as a weapon of war.

The clash has forced about 10,000 families to flee, according to the International Organization for Migration. Moreover, the MSF facility received 139 wounded patients—most with shrapnel or gunshot injuries—in the first three weeks of February. - DW News