Sudanese refugees flee to Chad after deadly RSF attack on Zamzam camp; thousands malnourished, traumatized, and in urgent need.

A massive influx of Sudanese refugees is streaming into eastern Chad, with over 18,500 arrivals recorded in just the past two weeks, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UN agency reports that following the bombing of the Zamzam camp for internally displaced people in Darfur and the city of al-Fasher, hundreds of thousands are now fleeing their homes. Among them are large numbers of children, elderly individuals, and pregnant women—many of whom are severely malnourished.

“We didn’t anticipate such a huge influx,” said Jean-Paul Habamungu, head of the UNHCR sub-office in Chad. “It’s heartbreaking here at the border. There are so many children—many of them unaccompanied. Just now, we met a 14-year-old traveling alone, and nearby, a 9-year-old boy is crying, desperately searching for his parents.” Habamungu also highlighted the high number of people with urgent health needs, including pregnant and breastfeeding women suffering from malnutrition. “We expect more malnourished individuals to arrive,” he continued. “We’re hearing reports of people dying of hunger along the route from Zamzam to areas between Tawila and Tiné.”

The UNHCR notes that approximately 76% of the refugees have endured traumatic experiences, including sexual violence, extortion, and theft. Meanwhile, Chad is facing significant challenges in accommodating the new arrivals. The country is already hosting around 1.3 million refugees, including nearly 794,000 Sudanese who have fled since the civil war erupted more than two years ago. Humanitarian resources across Chad are critically strained, limiting the provision of essential services such as clean water, shelter, healthcare, education, and protection.

Last month, Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a violent assault on the Zamzam camp, marking one of the most brutal attacks in its two-decade history. Over the course of three days beginning April 11, RSF fighters reportedly massacred at least 400 people after maintaining a siege that starved residents for months. Witnesses, including refugees and aid workers, described horrific scenes in which RSF fighters gunned down men and women in the streets, beat and tortured civilians, and carried out widespread rape and sexual assault against women and girls.

The assault has effectively emptied Zamzam—once Sudan’s largest displacement camp and home to around 500,000 people. The RSF reportedly destroyed the camp’s only functioning medical centre, killing nine staff members from Relief International. Much of the camp’s southern and eastern sections were set ablaze, according to the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees.