Sudan, the resurgence of violence in West Darfur

 Members of a tribesmen in Sudan Members of a tribesmen in Sudan Photo by Yusuf Yassir on Unsplash

06 April 2021

Violence resurges in Sudan’s West Darfur: the UN reports attacks on civilians, humanitarian facilities, and thousands of displaced.

 

Violence has erupted again in West Darfur’s troubled region, culminating in three days of tribal clashes between the Arab Rizeigat and the Masalit tribes in the provincial capital El Geneina. This is the latest bloodshed occurring in the region since October when the Juba Peace Agreement was signed, and the UN peacekeepers withdrew. Unfortunately, despite the peace-building efforts violence did not stop. According to the UN, tribal clashes began in middle January and led to hundreds of casualties and to the displacement of approximately 108,000 already internally displaced people, who have been pushed out from refugee camps.  

The latest clash started on Saturday when unknown armed men shot two people from the Masalit; subsequently, the conflict rapidly escalated into three days of terror for the civilian population. Indeed, the UN reports attacks on civilians, including women and children, and humanitarian facilities while Al-Jazeera states that an ambulance carrying wounded victims was attacked in the melee, resulting in three health workers being wounded. According to the UN total figures, 56 people have been killed, 58 injured, and thousands displaced from their homes till date.  

The UN Special-Representative, Volker Perthes, has urged the Government to prevent further violence and to protect all civilians regardless of tribal and ethnic affiliations. Moreover, whilst the country’s Security and Defence Council has declared a State of Emergency in the region, the UN has reassured the Prime Minister, government members, and other signatories of the Juba Peace Agreement, that it is mobilizing additional resources and staff to meet the growing humanitarian necessities after the outbreak. Mr. Perthes has conveyed the UN’s commitment to support the Sudanese Government in addressing the underlying causes of this lasting violence and to fulfill its responsibility to protect the civilian population.

 

To know more, please read:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/5/eighteen-dead-as-violence-escalates-in-sudans-west-darfur-region

https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/04/1089172

 

Author: Sofia Antonelli  Editor: Shrabya Ghimire

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