The Zamzam camp for internally displaced people in North Darfur, seen in April 2015. Food aid has not reached it since April. (ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP)

Zamzam camp for displaced people in Sudan’s North Darfur is officially facing famine condition after intense and widespread fighting between rival military factions in the region, a global hunger monitor said in a report.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)’s Famine Monitoring Review Committee said around 320,000 people have fled fighting in El Fasher since May – and 200,000 of them are enduring famine in Zamzam, the largest camp in the war-torn country.

This is the third example of famine classification in over a decade after the 2011 Somalia famine and South Sudan famine in 2017, according to the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Operations (ECHO).

ECHO, one of the world’s largest donor of humanitarian aid, stated that due to restricted humanitarian access, it is difficult to establish with certainty that famine conditions are present in other areas.

It however said that other IDP camps in North Darfur are likely facing famine, and there are reasons to believe that other areas of greater Darfur and Khartoum also face famine-like conditions.

Following the declaration of famine in Zamzam, Kayode Akintola, Head of Region for Africa for the Catholic International Development Charity (CAFOD) said the international community has failed to prevent a foreseeable tragedy in Sudan.

“Only a third of the required funding has been met, and efficient solutions like cash assistance remain underfunded,” he said in a statement emailed to Eye Radio.

“If nothing changes, countless other communities across Sudan will starve to death amidst the world’s indifference.  Supply routes to the White Nile state are cut off, affecting IDPs (internally displaced people), refugees, and host communities.”

Since April 15, 2023, Sudan has been gripped by vicious civil war fought between the junta under General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces of General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and triggered one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory and the largest internal displacement crisis in the world.

Fighting continues daily in several parts of Sudan, with both sides accused of war crimes including the deliberate targeting of civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and blocking humanitarian aid.