New attacks in West Darfur leave hundreds dead: HRW
June 22, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – New attacks by armed Arab assailants on civilians in West Darfur have left hundreds dead, thousands displaced, and hundreds of civilian homes scorched and property looted since April, a rights body disclosed.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch, on Wednesday, said the large-scale violence has been carried out particularly against civilians in Kerenik and Kulbus.
“The last two months have shown all too starkly the devastating dividends of withdrawing peacekeepers and ignoring the ongoing need to protect civilians in Darfur,” said Mohamed Osman, Sudan researcher at the human rights group.
He added, “It’s hard not to feel like the international community, which watched Darfur with eagle eyes for years, has completely abandoned these victims of ethnic cleansing.
The report underscored the Sudanese government’s failure to fulfill its duty to protect civilians and the urgent need for ramped up United Nations monitoring, protection through its presence, and public reporting on events in Darfur.
Specific mention is made on the violence in West Darfur town of Kerenik, where heavily armed Arab militia killed at least 165 people, displaced 98,000 and destroyed significant civilian infrastructure between April 22 and 24, 2022.
HRW also said it documented various cases of intimidation and attacks against individuals who filed complaints following the attacks in al-Genaina, including those who sought to bring complaints against Rapid Support Force (RSF) officials.
Survivors of the Kerenik attacks, according to the group, said logistical, security and bureaucratic obstacles were hampering their ability to file complaints.
Similar attacks on civilians, based on report provided by the UN, reportedly occurred in the town of Kulbus and neighboring villages, in West Darfur between June 6 and 11, leaving 125 people dead, over 100 injured and 33,000 displaced.
“Most of the victims are reported to be from the non-Arab Gimir community. The attackers reportedly burned homes and farms and looted livestock,” said HRW.
The U.S-based group further said at least 75,000 people were newly displaced in Darfur and South Kordofan between January and May, while an additional 11,000 fled Chad as refugees, citing information availed by the UN.
West Darfur has suffered several large-scale attacks following the termination of the mandate of the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force, it noted.
Also document in the latest HRW report was that in March 2022, 48 people were reportedly killed and 12,000 displaced in Jebel Mun in attacks that involved “community level mobilizations” of Sudanese state security forces.
“Hospitals and medical staff have repeatedly come under attack during the bouts of violence in west Darfur, hampering access to health care for the injured, and reportedly including the killing of four medical staff during the late April 2022 violence in al-Genaina,” the group stated in its report.
Meanwhile, HRW stressed that joint human rights office in Sudan of both the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) should prioritize securing regular access to Darfur to investigate and publicly report on rights abuses.
It further argued, “…all parts of the UN mission, the UN system, and member states should support their work and increase protection monitoring and reporting capacity, including by deploying a stronger monitoring presence in Darfur”.
(ST)