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MSF: About 13 children die each day at a camp in Sudan for displaced people

Thirteen children are dying each day of severe malnutrition at the Zamzam camp in Sudan’s northern Darfur as a consequence of the 10-month war in their country, a medical charity said. The head of the U.N. refugee agency, meanwhile, warned that Europe may have to deal with a rise in the numbers of Sudanese refugees if a cease-fire agreement isn’t signed soon between Sudan’s warring sides and relief efforts aren’t strengthened.

Quick Read

  1. Thirteen children are dying daily from severe malnutrition at the Zamzam camp in Darfur, Sudan, due to the ongoing 10-month war.
  2. The U.N. refugee agency warns of a potential increase in Sudanese refugees in Europe if a cease-fire is not reached soon.
  3. One child dies every two hours in the camp, according to Claire Nicolet of Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
  4. The camp, home to over 300,000 people, has been cut off from essential humanitarian aid and medical care since the war started in April 2023.
  5. U.N. agencies and international organizations have had limited presence in North Darfur since the war’s outbreak.
  6. MSF plans to rapidly increase assistance at Zamzam camp but stresses the need for a larger response from other groups.
  7. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warns of refugees moving towards Europe if additional support is not provided.
  8. Over 9 million people are internally displaced in Sudan, with 1.5 million refugees fleeing to neighboring countries.
  9. Grandi highlights the war’s fragmentation and the rise of militias, leading to more civilian abuse and displacement.
  10. Conflicts in Sudan and other regions should not be overlooked amid global crises like the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

The Associated Press has the story:

MSF: About 13 children die each day at a camp in Sudan for displaced people

Newslooks- NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) —

Thirteen children are dying each day of severe malnutrition at the Zamzam camp in Sudan’s northern Darfur as a consequence of the 10-month war in their country, a medical charity said.

The head of the U.N. refugee agency, meanwhile, warned that Europe may have to deal with a rise in the numbers of Sudanese refugees if a cease-fire agreement isn’t signed soon between Sudan’s warring sides and relief efforts aren’t strengthened.

One child is dying every two hours in the camp, according to Claire Nicolet, head of emergency response in Sudan for Doctors without Borders, or MSF.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) chief Filippo Grandi speaks to The Associated Press in Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. After a week visit in East Africa, listening to people whose lives have been shattered by Sudan’s civil war. “Europe may soon have to deal with a flow of Sudanese migrants if a cease fire deal is not signed between the country’s warring factions and relief efforts bolstered”. Grandi said. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

“Those with severe malnutrition who have not yet died are at high risk of dying within three to six weeks if they do not get treatment,” Nicolet said.

MSF says that Zamzam, a camp of more than 300,000 people, was originally formed by people fleeing ethnically targeted violence in the region in 2003. However, since war broke out between Sudan’s military and paramilitary forces in April 2023, camp residents have been cut off from vital humanitarian aid and medical care, the group said in a statement.

U.N. agencies and international aid organizations evacuated North Darfur after the war began in April, and have maintained only a limited presence since then, MSF said.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees chief Filippo Grandi speaks to The Associated Press in Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. After spending a week in East Africa, listening to people whose lives have been shattered by Sudan’s civil war. Grandi said “Europe may soon have to deal with a flow of Sudanese migrants if a cease fire deal is not signed between the country’s warring factions and relief efforts bolstered”. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

“Now, they have been almost completely abandoned. There have been no food distributions from the World Food Program since May. People are going hungry — and children are dying as a result,” Nicolet said.

MSF said that it would rapidly increase the scale of assistance at the camp to provide treatment for children in the most critical condition. However, the scale of the disaster requires a far greater response than MSF can provide alone, the group said.

The head of the U.N. refugee agency said that without additional support, refugees from Sudan will attempt to make their way to Europe.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) chief Filippo Grandi speaks to The Associated Press in Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. After a week visit in East Africa, listening to people whose lives have been shattered by Sudan’s civil war. “Europe may soon have to deal with a flow of Sudanese migrants if a cease fire deal is not signed between the country’s warring factions and relief efforts bolstered”. Grandi said (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

“The Europeans are always so worried about people coming across the Mediterranean. Well, I have a warning for them that if they don’t support more refugees coming out of Sudan, even displaced people inside Sudan, we will see onward movements of people towards Libya, Tunisia and across the Mediterranean,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said. ”There is no doubt.”

Sudan military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, left, and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, right.

More than 9 million people are thought to be internally displaced in Sudan, and 1.5 million refugees have fled into neighboring countries in 10 months of clashes between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

The conflict erupted last April in the capital, Khartoum, and quickly spread to other areas of the country.

Grandi said several countries neighboring Sudan — Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Ethiopia — have their own “fragilities” and will be unable to give refugees enough assistance.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees chief Filippo Grandi speaks with UNHCR staff in Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. After a week visit in East Africa, listening to people whose lives have been shattered by Sudan’s civil war. “Europe may soon have to deal with a flow of Sudanese migrants if a cease fire deal is not signed between the country’s warring factions and relief efforts bolstered”. Grandi said. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

He said that refugees will move further toward northern countries like Tunisia, where some have been documented planning to cross to Europe.

“When refugees go out and they don’t receive enough assistance, they go further,” Grandi said.

He said the war in Sudan is becoming fragmented, with a number of militias controlling areas.

“Militias have even less hesitation to perpetrate abuse on civilians,” he said, suggesting that it would create even more displacement.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) chief Filippo Grandi speaks to The Associated Press in Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. After a week visit in East Africa, listening to people whose lives have been shattered by Sudan’s civil war. “Europe may soon have to deal with a flow of Sudanese migrants if a cease fire deal is not signed between the country’s warring factions and relief efforts bolstered”. Grandi said (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Grandi also said conflicts in places like Sudan, Congo, Afghanistan and Myanmar shouldn’t be overlooked during the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

“Gaza is a tragedy, it needs a lot of attention and resources, but it cannot be at the expense of another big crisis like Sudan,” he said.

Grandi spoke a day after visiting Sudan and Ethiopia, which is recovering from a two-year conflict in its northern Tigray region.

The United Nations says at least 12,000 people have been killed in Sudan’s conflict, although local doctors groups say the true toll is far higher.

Dagalo’s paramilitary forces appear to have had the upper hand over the past three months, with their fighters advancing to the east and north across Sudan’s central belt. Both sides have been accused of war crimes by rights groups.

Regional partners in Africa have been trying to mediate an end to the conflict, along with Saudi Arabia and the United States, which facilitated several rounds of unsuccessful, indirect talks between the warring parties. Burhan and Dagalo are yet to meet in person since the conflict began.

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