RSF still blocking aid for starving children
Paramilitary seized Doctors Without Borders' trucks heading to famine zone
A humanitarian organization trying to bring therapeutic food and medicines to Zamzam Camp, a declared famine zone, faces obstruction by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which detained the trucks carrying the food in Kabkabiya, west of El Fasher.
RSF seized the trucks about two months ago as they were traveling from Chad to El Fasher, North Darfur, and the nearby Zamzam Camp.
MSF first complained publicly about the seizure of these trucks in early August, saying that they needed the supplies to feed malnourished children. Additionally, the trucks are carrying medicines and surgical kits that are needed for victims of shelling in El Fasher and for women who need C-section surgeries to safely deliver their babies.
As the RSF continued to block the delivery of these key supplies to the famine zone, representatives of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) met with the RSF delegation in Geneva to discuss the matter. After the meeting, the RSF issued a press statement falsely claiming that they had released the trucks already.
MSF refuted this in a “clarification statement” today, saying, “While the RSF delegation mentioned their commitment to facilitating humanitarian aid during the meeting and in a subsequent statement, our teams on the ground still haven’t been able to retrieve our two trucks en route to Zamzam camp and held in Kabkabiya by their troops.”
The RSF also deflected blame for the two-month seizure, saying, “the incident resulted from a lack of coordination and unauthorized entry [by MSF] without proper notification to the [RSF front organization] Sudan Agency for Relief and Humanitarian Operations (SARHO).”
MSF said that they already had to cut back on services to patients in Zamzam Camp and warned that they might need to halt services altogether if they did not receive their supplies from the RSF soon.
In addition to blocking humanitarian supplies, the RSF have blocked crucial commercial deliveries of grain and other foodstuffs to El Fasher, aiming to starve the city into submission, while also shelling it and fighting with the Sudanese army and allied Joint Force on the outskirts of the city, which is the capital of North Darfur.
Meanwhile, the RSF delegation in Geneva has spent several weeks trying to boost its international profile and credibility by posing for pictures with visiting Westerners, including the delegation from Doctors Without Borders, among others. After a meeting with the aid organization, the RSF press team issued a lengthy statement detailing their supposed commitment to facilitating humanitarian aid and praising MSF for its work.
