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UN: siege on Zamzam camp deepening hunger as humanitarian access worsens
Summary
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that a siege around Zamzam camp near Al-Fashir is worsening famine conditions and blocking aid, with aid agencies suspending operations amid insecurity.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the siege of Zamzam camp, outside Al-Fashir, Sudan, is deepening the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians amid dwindling food supplies and increasing insecurity.
OCHA said the crisis has worsened during Ramadan, with skyrocketing prices and diminishing access to markets and basic goods. Partners on the ground reported signs of growing hunger and that armed attacks along routes to El Fashir continue to cause casualties and impede deliveries.
The briefing noted that improvised explosive devices inside the camp have become an increasing concern and that most humanitarian organizations have withdrawn operations in parts of the area owing to insecurity. The World Food Programme and its partners, the spokesperson said, were forced to suspend operations in Zamzam last month.
OCHA also described deteriorating conditions in parts of Khartoum state, with frontline aid workers reporting more than 800 cases of severe child malnutrition recorded two weeks earlier and increases in anemia, hepatitis, night blindness and malaria due to shortages of medicines.
Why it matters: prolonged siege and restricted access threaten lives, particularly of children and other vulnerable groups, and the suspension of major operations undermines relief capacity.
The UN called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and unhindered humanitarian access to deliver life-saving aid.
