In the current round of intercommunal violence in Sudan’s West Darfur province, at least 138 people have been murdered and others have been injured, according to medics.
In statements issued on Wednesday and Thursday, the West Darfur Doctors Committee reported that attacks in the Kreinik area killed 88 people and injured 84 others, while renewed fighting in the rocky Jebel Moon mountains killed 25 people and injured four others. Meanwhile, rioting in the Sarba neighbourhood claimed the lives of eight people and injured six more.
“Many of the wounded died because they could not reach medical facilities, and community clinics in rural areas are not equipped,” the doctors said.
Armed Arab camel herders clashed with each other in the Jebel Moon area on November 17. The incident was prompted by “a quarrel about camel looting,” according to West Darfur Governor Khamis Abdallah, who added that “military reinforcements have been sent to the area and the situation has stabilised.”
Separate confrontations began on December 4 in West Darfur’s Krenik district between competing parties using automatic weapons.
“They have created a wave of displacement from the outskirts into the town, with a humanitarian situation that can be described at the very least as catastrophic,” the doctor’s union said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Coordinating Committee for Refugee and Displacement Camps, a local NGO, reported that militias ringed Zamzam refugee camp and attacked the Donki Shata district of North Darfur.
According to the United Nations, the violence in Jebel Moon has displaced more than 10,000 people, with 2,000 of them fleeing into Chad.
According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the number of people displaced between January and September 2021 was nearly seven times higher than in the entire year of 2020, making it the biggest figure in at least six years.
The latest battles in Darfur are reminiscent of the years of intercommunal violence that preceded the outbreak of conflict in 2003, which was waged between ethnic minority rebels who complained of discrimination and President Omar al-Arab-dominated Bashir’s administration.
Khartoum retaliated against the revolt by releasing armed Arab militias called as the Popular Defence Forces (Janjaweed), who have been accused of murder, rape, and village looting and burning.
One of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters ensued from the bloodshed. According to the United Nations, more than 300,000 people perished and 2.5 million were displaced as a result of the fighting.
Al-Bashir has been wanted by The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) for more than ten years on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Darfur. He was ousted in 2019 and has since been in Sudanese captivity.
Following al-military Bashir’s withdrawal after months, violence in Darfur’s five regions rose amid splits, notably in West Darfur, which had long been considered the most tranquil.
West Darfur has witnessed four waves of violence since December 2019, three of which occurred in or around the state capital El-Geneina.
The majority of the violence was perpetrated by armed members of Arab communities, including security personnel, against largely unarmed non-Arab citizens. According to a recent assessment by the International Federation for Human Rights, it resulted in killings, rape, enforced disappearances, and significant population displacement (FIDH).
On October 25, the military dissolved the civilian government, imprisoned political leaders, and proclaimed a state of emergency, jeopardising Sudan’s delicate democratic transition following al-Bashir’s ouster.
Despite increased violence against demonstrators, successive anti-coup marches have drew massive numbers across the country.
Protesters have not been deterred by a compromise between army head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, which saw the latter reinstated nearly a month after the coup.
Experts say the gradual withdrawal of the UN and African Union joint mission to Darfur (UNAMID) in December 2020 has certainly exacerbated the spike in violence in Darfur, accusing transitional authorities for failing to keep their promise to protect civilians better than the international force.
“National authorities and the international community must urgently deal with the bloody reality of this spiralling violence,” Will Carter of the Norwegian Refugee Council said in a statement on Wednesday.
