The UN has suspended food aid to the refugee camp in Sudan.

The regional director of the agency for East Africa, Laurent Bukera, stated that without humanitarian assistance, hunger could emerge in the camp, affecting thousands of families, and he called for an urgent cessation of hostilities and the establishment of safe conditions for staff to operate.

In the Zamzam refugee camp, around half a million Sudanese have settled after fleeing their homes due to the civil war in the country. During more stable months, the UN agency provided food for approximately 300,000 of them. However, in February, prior to the suspension of its operations, it managed to distribute food vouchers to only 60,000 camp residents. These vouchers are exchanged by refugees for food in local markets. The markets themselves also operate with the help of the agency, which supports the local private sector. In recent weeks, they have also come under fire from opposing Sudanese factions.

Earlier this week, the international organization "Doctors Without Borders" also suspended its operations in the camp, where it had a field hospital.

The state of hunger is officially declared when there are two adult deaths or four child deaths due to malnutrition for every 10,000 deaths in the region. In the Zamzam camp and two other refugee camps in Sudan, such statistics have been recorded since August of last year. Since 2023, the UN has been speaking of a humanitarian catastrophe.

• Since mid-2023, an armed conflict has been ongoing in Sudan between the armed group "Rapid Support Forces" and government troops. Leaders of both sides, former allies, came to power in Sudan simultaneously in 2019, during a military coup that ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir.
• During the conflict, tens of thousands of people have lost their lives, with reports of ethnic cleansing and mass violence. According to UN data, the war has forced 4,800,000 Sudanese to flee their homes and seek refuge within the country. Additionally, 1.2 million people have left Sudan for neighboring countries.