Now, from the safety of Sydney, he’s spent every day waiting on word from the family he left behind.

“We get those kind of news every day.”

‘Killed in front of his children’

Zamzam is home to an estimated 1.5 million displaced people and many had fled here in search of safety, only to be forced to flee again.

Credit: SBS News

The Zamzam refugee camp was the first place famine was declared in a United Nations-backed assessment last August.

Hassan, who serves as chairman of the Zaghawa Community Association of New South Wales and Canberra, has been able to see glimpses of the destruction through videos sent from his loved ones.

“He got killed in front of his children, in a peace camp.”

Inside the Sudanese camp

“They kidnapped many children and we do not know their whereabouts until now,” Hasan told SBS News.

In a rare interview, SBS News was able to speak to people inside Zamzam, where communication blackouts are common. Credit: SBS News

The situation is beyond difficult, she added, saying many children had died from the lack of food.

“We have more than 40 deaths due to malnutrition.”

Calls for a stronger stance from the Australian government

For Musab, such condemnation and concern is welcome, but provides little comfort while he despairs for the safety of his family.