Doha: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has revealed that more than 1,000 civilians were killed in an attack carried out last April by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Zamzam internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in North Darfur, Sudan.

According to Qatar News Agency, in a report published today, the OHCHR stated that at least 1,013 civilians were killed during the offensive from 11 to 13 April in what the report describes as "a consistent pattern of serious violations of international humanitarian law and gross abuses of international human rights law".

Of those killed, 319 were summarily executed, either in the camp or as they tried to flee. Some were killed in their homes during house-to-house searches by the RSF, others were killed in the main market, in schools, health facilities and mosques. More than 400,000 inhabitants of the camp were displaced once again due to the attack.

OHCHR noted that approximately 400,000 civilians fled the camp following the attack, adding that at least 104 people -including 75 women, 26 girls, and three boys- were subjected to horrific violence during the assault on the camp and along escape routes. It estimated that these acts were apparently used "to inflict terror among the community."

In the months prior to the attack, the RSF had blocked the entry of all food, water, fuel and other goods essential for the survival of the civilian population in Zamzam IDP camp and systematically attacked those who attempted to bring in supplies, the report said, describing these actions as "serious violations of international humanitarian law" and "egregious violations of international human rights law."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk commented on the report, saying: "The findings contained in this report are yet another stark reminder of the need for prompt action to end the cycles of atrocities and violence, and to ensure accountability and reparations for victims."

Zamzam IDP camp is one of three major camps located on the outskirts of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state. The camps were taken over by the Rapid Support Forces in late October, and Zamzam alone had housed about one million people prior to the attack.