Horrific Massacre in Sudan Zamzam Camp: Over 1,500 Civilians Feared Dead in Brutal Attack
A devastating assault on Sudan’s Zamzam refugee camp in April 2025 may have claimed the lives of more than 1,500 civilians, making it one of the deadliest atrocities in the country’s ongoing conflict, according to a Guardian investigation.
The 72-hour attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the nation’s largest displacement camp in North Darfur has revealed a scale of violence far exceeding initial estimates, with reports of mass executions, abductions, and widespread destruction.
Unprecedented Scale of Violence
The Zamzam camp, home to tens of thousands of displaced people, was subjected to a brutal three-day assault from April 11 to 14, 2025. Initial reports suggested around 400 non-Arab civilians were killed, but a committee tasked with investigating the death toll has now documented over 1,500 fatalities.
Mohammed Sharif, a member of the committee and part of Zamzam’s former administration, warned that the true number could be significantly higher, as many bodies remain unrecovered. “Their bodies are lying inside homes, in the fields, on roads,” Sharif told the Guardian, painting a grim picture of the aftermath.
An expert on atrocities in Darfur, speaking anonymously, estimated that up to 2,000 people may have perished in the attack. With decades of experience in the region, the expert noted that the level of violence was unprecedented, even when compared to the genocidal campaigns against ethnic African groups in the 2000s by Arab militias that later evolved into the RSF. “Every single testimony from everyone who escaped knew family members who were killed. That’s something I’ve never seen before,” they said.
A Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
The war between the RSF and the Sudanese military, which erupted in April 2023, has unleashed a wave of atrocities, displacing millions and creating the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. The Zamzam attack ranks as the second-deadliest war crime in this conflict, surpassed only by an ethnic massacre in West Darfur two years earlier, where over 10,000 people, primarily Masalit and other non-Arab Sudanese, were killed. The Sudanese military has also faced accusations of war crimes, including indiscriminate bombing raids that have claimed civilian lives.
The assault on Zamzam occurred just before a British government-led conference in London aimed at brokering peace in Sudan, highlighting the international community’s struggle to address the escalating violence. The camp, which has sheltered displaced people for over two decades, was left under RSF control, with survivors facing dire conditions.
Survivors’ Stories of Horror
Testimonies from survivors paint a harrowing picture of the attack. Abdallah Abugarda, a representative of the UK’s Darfur Diaspora Association, reported that approximately 4,500 members of his organization knew a friend or relative killed in the massacre.
At least 2,000 Zamzam residents remain missing, with fears that many were abducted. Sharif confirmed that more than 20 women were taken to Nyala, an RSF stronghold 160km away, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
Claire Nicolet, deputy head of emergencies for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), described the attack as targeting “one of the most vulnerable people on earth.” Survivors faced not only the trauma of loss but also widespread looting, sexual violence, and appalling conditions in transit displacement sites. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has stated it has “reasonable grounds” to believe war crimes and crimes against humanity are ongoing in Darfur, underscoring the gravity of the situation.
A Call for Global Attention
Despite the scale of the Zamzam massacre, global outrage has been notably absent. “The massacre at Zamzam, home to displaced people for over 20 years, is one of the most heinous crimes in recent global history. Yet no global outrage has followed,” Abugarda lamented. The lack of international response has left survivors and advocates frustrated, as the humanitarian crisis in Sudan continues to worsen.
The Zamzam attack is a stark reminder of the ongoing violence in Sudan, where both the RSF and the Sudanese military have been implicated in atrocities.
As investigations continue, the true toll of this tragedy may never be fully known, but the stories of loss and survival demand urgent global action to address the crisis and hold those responsible accountable.
