45 people killed in South Darfur during past two months: medical group

December 3, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – An independent Sudanese medical group disclosed that 45 people were killed in South Darfur State as a result of intercommunal clashes during the past two months.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) released a statement on December 3 speaking about the continued violence in the region more than a year after the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement.

The death toll of tribal clashes in South Darfur during October and November at least reached 45 people, said the medical group.

The CCSD underscored that this figure does not include two hospitals located in two areas that experienced tribal fighting.

“We failed to get information from Gereida and Talas Hospitals due to their presence in conflict areas. We expect deaths might have occurred” in these troubled areas, further stressed the group.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) recently released a joint report authored by Jérôme Toubiana titled Delays and Dilemmas: New Violence in Darfur and Uncertain Justice Efforts within Sudan’s Fragile Transition.

The report points to the increase of violence in the western Sudan region after the fall of the former regime and the major role played by the Arab militia that fought the rebel groups in Darfur alongside the al-Bashir regime.

“Yet the ethnic dimension of the conflict appears much stronger than that of alleged political conspiracies,” says the report.

Darfur Arab groups that control now fertile areas of local groups feel “empowered” by Hemetti rise as the deputy chairman of the Sovereign Council but at the same time “endangered” by the Juba peace agreement.

To explain their fears of any changes that the regime change may produce to their de facto dominance in Darfur the reports underlines the Arab militias attacked even peace protests in support of the civilian-led transition.

(ST)