Clashes between rival tribes in Darfur have claimed the lives of nearly 50 people in the past 24 hours, the latest violence in this region of western Sudan plagued by security instability.
This violence is also the deadliest since the end on December 31 of the joint UN and African Union peace mission in Darfur, a withdrawal that had greatly raised fears of escalation to the inhabitants of this vast region.
According to a new report released Sunday by the Sudanese official agency Suna, which quotes the local branch of the doctors’ union, the violence since Saturday in El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, has left 48 dead and 97 injured.
And the clashes continue, she added.
Clashes broke out between the Al-Massalit tribe and the Arab nomads. Armed militias favorable to the Arab nomads then attacked el-Geneina and several houses were set on fire, according to witnesses.
Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok has sent a “high-ranking” delegation to West Darfur to try to restore order.
Darfur is experiencing an upsurge in tribal clashes, which left 15 dead and dozens injured at the end of December, a few days before the end of the joint UN-African Union peace mission, a 13 years.
The gradual withdrawal of troops from this mission, supposed to begin in January 2021, will be spread over six months. And the Sudanese government thus takes responsibility for protecting the populations of the region.
Earth, water
The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 between forces loyal to the regime of General Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum and members of ethnic minorities who consider themselves marginalized and demand a more equitable distribution of power and wealth.
The violence left some 300,000 dead and more than 2.5 million displaced, mainly during the first years, according to the UN.
To fight against the insurgents, the Bashir power had deployed the Janjaweed, an armed militia composed mainly of Arab nomads, accused of “ethnic cleansing” and rape. Thousands of militiamen were subsequently incorporated into the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group.
If the violence has decreased in intensity, clashes are quite frequent over access to land and water, opposing nomadic Arab herders and Darfuri peasants.
The Sudanese transitional government – set up after the fall of the autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 under the pressure of a popular protest – signed in October a peace agreement with several rebel groups, including in Darfur.
After UNAMID, which numbered up to 16,000 troops, the UN will remain in Sudan via an integrated United Nations Mission for assistance with the transition in Sudan (Minuats).
This political mission will have the task of assisting the transitional government, installed in August 2019 and resulting from an agreement between the military and leaders of the protest movement. It should also assist in the application of recent peace agreements in regions ravaged by conflict.
Omar al-Bashir, in prison, and other Sudanese officials are wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for “crimes against humanity” and “genocide” in Darfur.