Sudan | At least 250 dead, 100,000 displaced in Darfur conflict, according to UN

Defence Redefined

Published on 23/01/2021 at 17:35

A sharp uptick in intercommunal violence in Sudan’s Darfur region caused the death of 250 and forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes in search of safety, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported on Friday.

According to the UNHCR, clashes broke out over the use of weapons between nomadic Arab tribes and internally displaced members of the Masalit tribe on Saturday and Sunday in the West Darfur province.

At least 160 people were killed and 215 were injured, according to the UNHCR. During separate incidents on Monday in the province of South Darfur and the city of Jenina, 72 people were killed and 73 others injured. Members of the Falata and Rizeigat tribes were involved, according to a statement from the same UN agency.

An “imminent risk” of further violence remains,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UNHCR. She explained that decades-old ethnic and tribal tensions that were further stoked by the previous regime continue to fester, especially between nomads and farmers.

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Ms Samdasani called Sudan’s transitional government “to break the cycle of armed citizens taking the law into their own hands to avenge attacks on members of their communities.” The violence broke out about two weeks after the United Nations and African Union (MINUAD), which have been present in the vast, volatile West Sudan region for 13 years, halted patrols as they prepared to leave.

In October, the transitional government formed after the overthrow of authoritarian leader Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir by the army – following months of mass popular mobilizations – signed a peace agreement with several guerilla organizations, including the guerilla movement in Darfur. However, some Darfur guerrilla organizations did not sign the agreement.

The UN has estimated that around 300,000 were killed and around 2.7 million forced from their homes during the Darfur conflict between the Government and their militiamen allies and guerilla groups, which began in 2003.

With information from : CNA, ΑPA-MPA, dpa, news.un.org

* File Photo from UN / Surendra Bahadur Ter

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