( CNN ) -- Fighting has prompted thousands of people in the southern part of Sudan 's Darfur region to seek security and shelter at a refugee camp in the northern part of the war-torn area , according to the United Nations . A member of the Justice and Equality Movement ( JEM ) stands guard near the Sudan-Chad border in 2007 . The U.N. 's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA ) reported that fighting in Muhajeria and Shearia between Sudanese government forces , and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement ( JEM ) , drove over 15,000 people north to the Zam Zam camp . The water supply to the camp is becoming strained with displaced people arriving there every day , OCHA said Wednesday . The government of Sudan has waged a brutal counter-insurgency against militias for the past six years , a war that some international critics have characterized as genocide . An estimated 300,000 people in the western Sudanese region have been killed through combat , disease or malnutrition , according to the United Nations . An additional 2.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes because of fighting among rebels , government forces and the violent Janjaweed militias . Fighting continues in the region despite the JEM and local government signing a `` goodwill and confidence-building '' agreement earlier in February , according to the U.N . The U.N.-African Union allied peacekeeping mission ( UNAMID ) will begin building a new community police center near Zam Zam in the next two weeks , the U.N. announced Saturday . The violence in Darfur erupted in 2003 after rebels began an uprising against the Sudanese government . To counter the rebels , Sudanese authorities armed and cooperated with Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur , killing , torturing and raping residents there , according to the United Nations , Western governments and human rights organizations . The militias targeted civilian members of tribes from which the rebels drew strength . Last year , Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was charged with genocide by the International Criminal Court for the government 's campaign of violence in Darfur . Under pressure to end the fighting , Al-Bashir in November agreed to an immediate and unconditional cease-fire in Darfur . But the rebel Justice and Equality Movement was not included in the case-fire talks . CNN 's Katy Byron contributed to this report .
Refugees seek security and shelter at refugee camp in north Darfur . Darfur government has waged counter - insurgency war against Sudan for six years . Darfur war started in 2003 after rebel uprising against Sudanese government .