BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- According to the latest "Integrated Classification of Food Security Stages" report released by the United Nations on August 1, due to the continuation of armed conflict and restrictions on humanitarian assistance, a famine has occurred in a refugee camp in Sudan's Darfur region, and a similar situation may occur in many other refugee camps.
Famine-affected areas are likely to expand
According to the report, according to data available since January this year, acute malnutrition and mortality in the Zamzam refugee camp have exceeded the "threshold" for famine under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. In July of this year, the famine was already "persistent" there and is likely to continue at least until October.
Located in Northern Darfur, near the state capital, El Fasher, the Zamzam refugee camp is home to some 500,000 people, mainly refugees from within the Sudanese conflict. The Zamzam refugee camp has been unable to receive any international aid for months as the area is besieged by the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF), while the number of refugees continues to rise.
The fighting near El Fasher has led to an influx of refugees into the Zamzam camp in just a few weeks, with the number of refugees rapidly swelling from 300,000 to nearly 500,000, according to Plan International, an international aid group.
Reuters analysis of satellite imagery found that 14 cemeteries in Darfur have expanded significantly in recent months. A cemetery in the Zamzam refugee camp increased by nearly 50 per cent in size over the previous three-and-a-half-month period from 28 March to 3 May. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says the death rate in the camps has climbed to 1.9 deaths per 10,000 people per day.
The plight of children in the camps is also a cause for concern. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in June that 63,000 children in Zamzam camp were malnourished, 10 per cent of whom were severely malnourished.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification reports that the same situation may be the same in other refugee camps in the Darfur region. Sudan faces the worst food insecurity on record, with 14 districts of the country at risk of famine, including Jezira and Khartoum, according to a United Nations report at the end of June.
Humanitarian aid has been hampered
According to Reuters, this is the third time that a famine has been identified in a part of the world since the launch of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification project in 2004. Some experts and UN officials say this could prompt the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution to assist UN agencies in providing relief to refugees in need.
On 15 April 2023, armed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and the fighting then spread to other areas. The armed conflict, which has lasted for more than a year, has killed an estimated 18,800 people in Sudan and displaced more than 10 million. The United Nations called it "one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent years."
International aid workers have repeatedly complained that humanitarian aid has been either blocked by the Sudanese Armed Forces or looted by the Rapid Support Forces. However, both sides to the conflict in Sudan have denied obstructing humanitarian assistance.
In February, the Sudanese government banned the delivery of international humanitarian aid from neighboring Chad to Darfur through the Adre border crossing, Reuters reported. This is one of the shortest transport routes. Government officials of the Sudan have identified the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as using the border between the two countries to transport weapons. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, another border crossing to the Darfur region is also temporarily unusable due to heavy rains.
In a statement in June, the Government of Sudan said it would continue to work with the international community to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need. The statement also said there was no imminent famine in Sudan.
Since 10 May this year, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), together with a number of local armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have been engaged in a fierce struggle for control of Northern Darfur, resulting in a large number of civilian casualties. At present, the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken control of four states in the Darfur region, with the exception of Northern Darfur. (Huang Aiping)