A Guardian Investigation Reveals Shocking New Death Toll in April Assault by RSF Forces on Displacement Camp
A devastating new investigation has revealed that more than 1,500 civilians may have been brutally killed in an attack on Sudan’s Zamzam displacement camp in April 2025. This staggering figure—far higher than initial estimates—places the atrocity among the deadliest mass killings in Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict, second only to the ethnic massacre in West Darfur in 2023.
Over the course of 72 hours between 11 and 14 April, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a coordinated assault on the camp, located in North Darfur. Witnesses and investigators report mass executions, abductions, sexual violence, and looting, describing it as a deliberate and targeted massacre of non-Arab civilians.
Despite the scale of the violence, there has been little global condemnation or intervention, raising serious questions about the international community’s response to one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history.
Inside the Bloodshed: What Happened at Zamzam Camp
A Planned, Prolonged, and Targeted Attack
The attack began just one day before a British government-led peace conference aimed at stabilising Sudan. Over three days, the RSF systematically entered homes, executed civilians, looted supplies, and abducted women and children.
Initial UN estimates suggested up to 400 deaths. However, a local investigative committee led by members of Zamzam’s former administration has since “counted” more than 1,500 confirmed fatalities, with the final toll expected to be much higher. Many bodies remain unburied or missing, lying inside homes, fields, and on roadways now under RSF control.
“Their bodies are lying inside homes, in the fields, on roads,” said Mohammed Sharif, a former administrator from Zamzam.
“The real number of dead is far beyond 1,500.”
“They Slaughtered Us Like Animals”
An unnamed atrocity expert with decades of experience in Darfur described the scale of violence as “unprecedented.”
“Every single survivor I interviewed had lost family. That’s something I’ve never seen before,” they said.
“It’s a level of violence that surpasses even the early 2000s genocide in Darfur.”
Members of the UK’s Darfur Diaspora Association echoed the sentiment. Abdallah Abugarda, a prominent figure in the group, reported that 4,500 Sudanese in the UK had lost a friend or relative in the attack.
“The massacre at Zamzam—home to displaced people for over 20 years—is one of the most heinous crimes in recent global history. Yet there’s been no international outrage.”
The Human Cost: Missing, Abducted, and Forgotten
Women and Children Targeted
The RSF’s attack included mass abductions, particularly of women and girls. According to Sharif, more than 20 women are confirmed to have been transported to Nyala, an RSF stronghold 160km away. Many more remain unaccounted for.
Survivors describe widespread sexual violence, forced disappearances, and inhumane conditions faced by those fleeing to transit displacement camps, where Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports appalling living conditions and severe trauma.
“They targeted the most vulnerable people on earth,” said Claire Nicolet, deputy head of emergencies at MSF.
“Survivors have endured looting, sexual violence, and brutal conditions on the road.”
Global Inaction and Silence
ICC and UN Responses: Too Little, Too Late?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) recently announced it had “reasonable grounds” to believe war crimes and crimes against humanity are occurring in Darfur. But critics argue that no effective action has been taken to stop the atrocities or protect civilians.
The United Nations has acknowledged the Zamzam attack as part of a pattern of systematic ethnic violence. But with over 2,000 Zamzam residents still missing, calls for international intervention have gone unanswered.
The RSF, once a government-backed militia, now operates with near-total impunity in parts of Sudan, including North and West Darfur, with atrocities in Geneina and El Geneina still under investigation. In Geneina alone, over 10,000 people were reportedly killed in just two months in 2023.
War Crimes on All Sides
While the RSF has drawn global ire for its ethnic cleansing campaigns, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are also accused of war crimes, notably through indiscriminate bombing raids that have massacred civilians across urban centres.
The civil war, which began in April 2023, has plunged Sudan into chaos, displacing millions, decimating infrastructure, and creating the world’s largest humanitarian crisis according to UN data.
Despite efforts by international stakeholders to broker peace, factional violence has worsened, and both sides continue to commit atrocities with little to no accountability.
The Call for Action: Where is the World?
The Role of the International Community
Human rights advocates, diaspora leaders, and survivors are now demanding an urgent, unified response:
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Sanctions on RSF leaders and arms suppliers
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Humanitarian corridors to deliver aid to Darfur
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War crimes investigations to fast-track ICC prosecution
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Media coverage and diplomatic pressure to break the silence surrounding Sudan
“The silence is deadly,” said Abugarda.
“Every day the world looks away, more people die.”
A Genocide in Real Time—And No One Is Watching
The massacre at Zamzam camp is not an isolated event—it is part of a systematic pattern of violence that has defined Sudan’s civil war for over two years. But its scale, intent, and horror make it a chilling reminder that genocide is still unfolding in real time, and that the world has not learned from past failures.
As survivors continue to mourn and search for missing loved ones, the need for global outrage and intervention has never been more urgent.