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By Michelle Nichols and Nafisa Eltahir
UNITED NATIONS/CAIRO (Reuters) - The United Nations World Food Programme has temporarily stopped distributing food aid in a famine-struck camp for displaced people in Sudan's North Darfur amid escalating violence, warning that thousands of families could starve in the coming weeks.
The move comes two days after medical charity MSF suspended its activities in Zamzam camp, which has been the target of repeated attacks by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as it seeks to oust the Sudanese army and allied forces.
"Without immediate assistance, thousands of desperate families in Zamzam could starve in the coming weeks," said Laurent Bukera, WFP's east Africa director.
"We must resume the delivery of life-saving aid in and around Zamzam safely, quickly and at scale. For that the fighting must stop, and humanitarian organizations must be granted security guarantees," Bukera said.
War erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
Senior U.N. aid official Edem Wosornu told the Security Council on Wednesday that satellite imagery confirmed the use of heavy weaponry in and around Zamzam in recent weeks, and the destruction of the main market facilities within the camp.
"Terrified civilians, including humanitarian workers, were unable to leave the area when the fighting was most intense. Many were killed, including at least two humanitarian workers," she told the 15-member council.
AID ACCESS
Famine was confirmed in August in Zamzam camp by a global committee of food security experts.
Since then WFP said it has only been able to get one aid convoy into Zamzam despite repeated attempts, blaming "poor road conditions during the rainy season, purposeful obstruction by the Rapid Support Forces" and fighting along the route between the RSF and Sudanese army-affiliated forces.
The closure of the Adre border crossing into Darfur from Chad in the first half of 2024 also stopped WFP from stockpiling food in Zamzam to ensure consistent support later in the year, the U.N. agency said.
"Nearly two years of relentless conflict in Sudan have inflicted immense suffering and turned parts of the country into a hellscape," Wosornu told the Security Council. She added that more than 12 million people had been displaced and half the country - 24.6 million people – were experiencing acute hunger.
"We need real implementation of the repeated commitments to facilitate and enable unhindered, unfettered humanitarian access to civilians in need," she said.
In November, Russia - which backs the Sudanese government - vetoed a Security Council draft resolution that called on Sudan's warring parties to stop fighting and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Nafisa Eltahir)
