The United Nations warned on Friday of increasing human rights violations in Darfur, western Sudan, following intensified fighting in the seventh month of the ongoing war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated in a report, “More than 800 people were killed by armed groups in Ardmta in western Darfur, a region that had been spared from the conflict until now.” William Spindler, a spokesperson for the organization in Geneva, clarified during a press conference that these people were killed “in the past few days.”
Ardmta also houses a camp for internally displaced people in Sudan, where nearly 100 shelters have been destroyed, according to the UNHCR. The area has also experienced numerous looting incidents, especially of relief materials belonging to the organization.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi stated in a report, “Twenty years ago, the world was shocked by the brutal atrocities and human rights violations in Darfur. We fear a similar dynamic is unfolding.” He added, “An immediate cessation of hostilities and unconditional respect for civilians by all parties is essential to avoid a new catastrophe.”
The commission expresses deep concern about reports of sexual violence, torture, arbitrary killings, extortion of civilians, and targeting of ethnic groups, as well as reports that thousands of displaced people were forced to flee from a camp in Geneina.
The organization is preparing for a new influx of refugees to Chad, noting that “those who managed to escape across the border are arriving in large numbers,” specifying that “over 8,000 people fled to neighboring Chad last week alone – a number that may be underestimated due to difficulties in registering new arrivals.”
The war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, began on April 15, resulting in more than 9,000 deaths, according to estimates by the non-governmental organization ACLED, which is considered an underestimate. The conflict has also destroyed most of the infrastructure and caused the displacement of more than 4.8 million people within Sudan and 1.2 million to neighboring countries, according to the UNHCR.
