Women and babies at Zamzam displacement camp, near El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, where danger lurks as the civil war shows no sign of abating. Reuters
Women and babies at Zamzam displacement camp, near El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, where danger lurks as the civil war shows no sign of abating. Reuters
Women and babies at Zamzam displacement camp, near El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, where danger lurks as the civil war shows no sign of abating. Reuters
Women and babies at Zamzam displacement camp, near El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, where danger lurks as the civil war shows no sign of abating. Reuters

Nearly half a million who fled Sudan's Zamzam camp still at risk from violence, MSF warns


Mina Aldroubi
  • English
  • Arabic

At least 400,000 people have fled Sudan’s Zamzam displacement camp in less than three weeks due to heavy violence and fighting, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Thursday.

The findings by the medical charity, published in a report titled Besieged, Attacked, Starved, said hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of atrocities being committed in North Darfur, where the camp is situated.

“The Rapid Support Forces [RSF] and their allies conducted a large-scale ground offensive in April on Zamzam displacement camp, outside El Fasher, causing an estimated 400,000 people to flee in less than three weeks in appalling conditions,” the report said.

“A large portion of the camp population fled to El Fasher, where they remain trapped, out of reach of humanitarian aid and exposed to attacks and further mass violence."

El Fasher is the only city in Darfur − a region of western Sudan about the size of France − that remains under army control, with the rest held by the RSF. The city has been besieged by the RSF since May last year, with the army's 6th Infantry Division and allied groups its last defenders. Many of El Fasher's residents have fled to escape the fighting.

MSF urged “the warring parties to halt indiscriminate and ethnically targeted violence, and facilitate an immediate large-scale humanitarian response”.

The harrowing level of violence on the roads out of El Fasher and Zamzam means many people are trapped or are taking life-threatening risks to escape the city, the report said.

“Men and boys are at high risk of killing and abduction, while women and girls are subjected to widespread sexual violence,” it said.

MSF said it was “extremely concerned about the threats of a full-blown assault on the hundreds of thousands of people in the state capital of El Fasher, which would lead to further bloodshed”.

The RSF and the army have been locked in a devastating civil war since April 2023. At least 40,000 people have been killed and nearly 13 million displaced, including to other countries, according to figures from the UN.

“As patients and communities tell their stories to our teams and asked us to speak out, while their suffering is hardly on the international agenda, we felt compelled to document these patterns of relentless violence that have been crushing countless lives in general indifference and inaction over the past year," Mathilde Simon, MSF’s humanitarian affairs adviser, said in the report.

The agency had to close down its medical services in El Fasher in August 2023 and in Zamzam camp in February this year because of attacks on healthcare workers and facilities.

“In May 2024 alone, health facilities supported by MSF in El Fasher endured at least seven incidents of shelling, bombing or shooting by all warring parties,” the report said.

The southern part of El Fasher saw renewed clashes between the army and the RSF this week despite the UN calling for a week-long ceasefire in the city to allow distribution of aid, a proposal the army accepted.

"Recent unilateral announcements of a possible local ceasefire have not yet been translated into concrete change on the ground," MSF said. "Time is running out."

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Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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Essentials

The flights

Etihad (etihad.ae) and flydubai (flydubai.com) fly direct to Baku three times a week from Dh1,250 return, including taxes. 
 

The stay

A seven-night “Fundamental Detox” programme at the Chenot Palace (chenotpalace.com/en) costs from €3,000 (Dh13,197) per person, including taxes, accommodation, 3 medical consultations, 2 nutritional consultations, a detox diet, a body composition analysis, a bio-energetic check-up, four Chenot bio-energetic treatments, six Chenot energetic massages, six hydro-aromatherapy treatments, six phyto-mud treatments, six hydro-jet treatments and access to the gym, indoor pool, sauna and steam room. Additional tests and treatments cost extra.

3%20Body%20Problem
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20Benioff%2C%20D%20B%20Weiss%2C%20Alexander%20Woo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBenedict%20Wong%2C%20Jess%20Hong%2C%20Jovan%20Adepo%2C%20Eiza%20Gonzalez%2C%20John%20Bradley%2C%20Alex%20Sharp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

Temple numbers

Expected completion: 2022

Height: 24 meters

Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people

Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people

First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time

First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres  

Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres

Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor 

The Gentlemen

Director: Guy Ritchie

Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant 

Three out of five stars

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Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

SCHEDULE

Saturday, April 20: 11am to 7pm - Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival and Para jiu-jitsu.

Sunday, April 21: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (female) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Monday, April 22: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (male) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Tuesday, April 23: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Wednesday, April 24: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Thursday, April 25: 11am-5pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Friday, April 26: 3pm to 6pm Finals of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Saturday, April 27: 4pm and 8pm awards ceremony.

Updated: July 03, 2025, 1:00 PM