WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), top Democrat on Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, issued the following statement:
“I am horrified by reports that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the Zamzam IDP camp outside El Fasher, Sudan, indiscriminately shooting people and setting fires. Zamzam is a place where half a million Sudanese civilians, including hundreds of thousands of children, have sought shelter and safety from violence by the RSF and allied militias in the surrounding area and other parts of Darfur. This is already an extremely vulnerable population, living in dire circumstances, with famine confirmed there last year, and warnings from the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum of the potential for acts of genocide. It is also being reported that the RSF stopped cellular and web services in the area, which cuts off emergency communications and limits the ability to document attacks taking place.
“The RSF must stop the ruthless atrocities perpetrated against civilians, and all parties must ensure the safety and freedom of movement for all civilians and humanitarian workers in the area. I call on the Trump administration to take immediate action to protect the displaced community at Zamzam, ensure accountability for the violence committed, ramp up diplomatic engagement, and immediately restart all emergency humanitarian assistance that USAID provided to the Sudanese people to save lives.”