In Sudan, fighting in the Darfur region has escalated further. The situation is alarming, warns the UN refugee agency. Within a few days, 800 people were killed and there were reports of sexual violence.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has expressed concern about escalating fighting in Sudan’s West Darfur region. The organization said more than 800 people were reportedly killed by armed groups in just a few days. In addition, more than 8,000 people fled to neighboring Chad last week alone. The town of Ardamata, near the regional capital Al-Junaina, is particularly affected by the violence.
In Sudan, the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been fighting against the armed forces of the country in the Horn of Africa since mid-April. “Twenty years ago, the world was shocked by the terrible atrocities and human rights violations in Darfur. We fear that a similar dynamic could develop,” warned the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.
According to UNHCR spokesman William Spindler, armed militias went from house to house to systematically kill boys and men. According to Spindler, eyewitnesses reported gross human rights violations and sexual violence. The UN itself hardly has any access to the contested areas.
Six million people on the run
Sudanese human rights activist Hafiz Mohamed from the organization “Justice Africa Sudan” describes the current violence as ethnic cleansing. Hundreds of members of the Massalit ethnic group were killed by the RSF and allied Arab militias in the town of Ardamata alone this week, Mohamed said in an interview with the British broadcaster BBC.
In the first months of the conflict, ceasefires between the RSF and the army were agreed upon several times – and then broken. Both sides blamed each other.
The RSF announced a few days ago that they had captured Al-Junaina. Suspected war crimes had already taken place there in the summer in attacks by the RSF and allied militias. According to the UN in July, mass graves containing several dozen murdered civilians from the Masalit ethnic minority were found there. The RSF denied the allegations. According to UN figures, a total of six million people have been displaced by the conflict – most of whom are still on the run within the country.