MSF pulls out of famine-stricken camp in Sudan's Darfur due to heavy fighting

Medical charity MSF has been forced to suspend its activities in a famine-stricken camp in Sudan's North Darfur because of heavy fighting in the area, it said on Monday.

The charity was one of the few still working in the besieged Zamzam camp which houses around 500,000 people displaced by Sudan's 22-month civil war.

MSF had operated a field hospital that helped treat the wounded in attacks this month by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and have also treated thousands of malnourished children.

"Despite widespread starvation and immense humanitarian needs, we have no choice but to take the decision to suspend all our activities in the camp, including the MSF field hospital," MSF said in a statement sent to journalists.

MSF said its teams had treated 139 patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds in its field hospital this month, though 11 died because the facility lacked the necessary equipment.

"The sheer proximity of the violence, great difficulties in sending supplies, the impossibility to send experienced staff for adequate support, and uncertainty regarding routes out of the camp for our colleagues and civilians leave us with little choice," said Yahya Kalilah, MSF head of mission in Sudan.

The war between the Rapid Support Forces and the army which broke out in April 2023 has killed tens of thousands of people while plunging half of Sudan into hunger and several locations into famine.