Doctors Without Borders forced to halt aid in Sudan amid fighting

Doctors Without Borders has been forced to suspend life-saving assistance in famine-stricken displacement camps due to the escalating war in Sudan. The international medical charity, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), stated that fighting between the Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has made it impossible for them to operate in North Darfur.

In a statement, Doctors Without Borders said, "Despite widespread hunger and immense humanitarian needs, we have no choice but to decide to suspend all our activities in the camp, including the MSF field hospital." As a result of the aid suspension, more than 500,000 people in the Zamzam camp are suffering from hunger and are trapped without access to medical assistance, including those in need of trauma surgery and emergency cesarean sections.

Yahya Kalilah, head of Doctors Without Borders in Sudan, stated that two ambulances carrying patients from the camp to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, were shot at in January and December. "We are currently unable to meet the most basic safety conditions to continue to stay here," he said. Doctors Without Borders stated that "stopping our project in the face of the worsening disaster in Zamzam is a heartbreaking decision."

The International Organization for Migration stated that the Rapid Support Forces attacked Zamzam on February 11, triggering a two-day conflict with the army that forced approximately 10,000 families to flee. The facility established by Doctors Without Borders, designed to address a severe malnutrition crisis, received 139 injured patients in the first three weeks of February, most of whom had gunshot and shrapnel wounds. Due to a lack of trauma surgery capabilities, 11 patients died at the facility, including five children.

Both sides of the conflict have been accused of indiscriminately shelling medical facilities and residential areas, and of using starvation as a weapon of war. The Sudanese conflict, which erupted nearly two years ago, has killed tens of thousands of people and triggered what aid agencies call the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis. In recent weeks, the Rapid Support Forces have intensified their attacks on El-Fasher after the army made key advances in the capital and central Sudan, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.