The Committee for Justice (CFJ) expresses grave concern over the findings of a report issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), titled “Three Days of Terror with No Safe Refuge: RSF Offensive on Zamzam IDP Camp, El Fasher (11–13 April 2025)”, which documents serious violations committed during the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) takeover of Zamzam Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in El Fasher.
According to the OHCHR report, RSF forces carried out a large-scale and coordinated attack against Zamzam IDP camp over three consecutive days in April 2025. Zamzam camp, one of the largest IDP camps in Sudan, shelters civilians who had already been forcibly displaced by earlier waves of violence. The report documents indiscriminate attacks, including shelling with heavy weaponry, the killing of civilians, widespread destruction of shelters, and the deliberate spreading of terror among displaced populations who had no safe route to flee.
OHCHR findings indicate that civilians, including women, children, and elderly persons, were exposed to lethal force in circumstances where no military necessity was evident. Survivors interviewed by OHCHR described scenes of panic and chaos, the collapse of any form of protection, and the absence of humanitarian corridors, leaving thousands of displaced persons trapped inside a civilian camp under sustained attack.
The report further confirms that Zamzam IDP camp, by its civilian character, is protected under international humanitarian law. Attacks against the camp and its inhabitants constitute a serious breach of the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution, which are binding on all parties to the conflict.
CFJ emphasizes that the violations documented in the OHCHR report are consistent with and corroborate patterns previously monitored and documented by the organization in Zamzam IDP camp and its surroundings. CFJ has recorded repeated attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in the camp, including the use of indiscriminate force and the systematic erosion of protection for internally displaced persons in El Fasher. The OHCHR findings therefore reinforce existing documentation and confirm the gravity and scale of violations committed against displaced communities.
CFJ stresses that the acts described in the report are serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including acts of war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Internally displaced persons are entitled to specific protections under international law, including the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, which require all parties to a conflict to ensure their safety, dignity, and protection from violence.
CFJ joins OHCHR in calling for independent, prompt, and effective investigations into the violations committed during the RSF takeover of Zamzam IDP camp. Furthermore, CFJ underscores the urgent need to ensure accountability for those responsible, including through international accountability mechanisms, and reiterates its support for the work of the African and UN Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan in documenting violations and preserving evidence for future judicial processes.
CFJ further calls on the international community to take concrete and immediate measures to protect civilians in Darfur, ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and strengthen the protection of IDP camps. Expressions of concern must be accompanied by meaningful action to prevent further atrocities and to uphold international law.
The events in Zamzam IDP camp are not isolated. They form part of a broader and deeply alarming pattern of violence against civilians, displaced persons, and other protected groups across Sudan since April 2023. CFJ reiterates that sustainable peace in Sudan cannot be achieved without an immediate ceasefire, accountability, justice, and an end to impunity for grave international crimes.
