IDP accuse RSF fighters of participating in West Darfur attacks

December 8, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – Darfur displaced people (IDP) have accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of being involved in the recent bloody violence that surged in South and West Darfur.

Since last week, the Jebel Moon, Kerenik and Donki Shata areas in West Darfur, in addition to Manwashi of South Darfur have witnessed intercommunal violence that claimed the lives of more than 100 people.

“The RSF are an integral part of the recent conflicts, they ride in cars and motorcycles that are prohibited in the region to attack villages, camps and areas to kill and rape without restriction, and the state is completely absent,” Adam Rahal Spokesperson for the IDPs and Refugees Coordination told the Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

Rahal pointed out that the RSF was involved in the violence of Jebel Moon, Kerenik and Manwashi, stressing that these conflicts are over natural resources.

Rahal added that 15 civilians were killed and five villages burned, on Wednesday morning in Jebel Moon.

The death toll in Jebel Moon has risen to 33 since the beginning of the current conflict, according to the IDP official.

He went further to claim that the RSF militia, which is commanded by the Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council, actually seek to expel the Jebel Moon residents from the mountainous area before bringing companies that explore the mineral resources.

Rahal said that the militiamen attacked the Donki Shata area on Wednesday, wounding 4 people, who were taken to El Fasher Hospital for treatment.

For its part, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors stated that the victims of the Kerenik clashes had risen to 88 dead and 84 wounded.

Press reports in Khartoum speak about the involvement of a peace signatory group in the Kerenik events.

Rahal admitted the involvement of the peace groups in the tribal clashes but dismissed their participation in the Kerenik clashes.

“The movements are part of the conflict in West Darfur, but they did not reach Kerenik, and some of their fighters were killed in the area between El-Geneina and Kerenik.”

The signatory groups fighters are gathered in some cantonment sites but they are not disarmed as the enforcement of the security arrangements does not start.

The IDP spokesperson pointed to the non-intervention of the Sudanese army troops to stop attacks saying they were accomplices in the committed atrocities.

“The army did not intervene in the conflict but rather watched the death. I don’t know if they had the authority to act or not, but the State is complicit as it does not fulfil its responsibility to civilians in Darfur.”

Commenting on the recent decision of the Sovereign Council to deploy a task force in the region Rahal said there are already a sufficient number of troops to protect civilians and maintain security in the region.

“There is no real will,” he stressed.

On Tuesday, the Sovereign Council decided to form a joint force of the army, RSF, General Intelligence Service, the police, and fighters of the signatory groups to maintain security in the troubled region.

The Sudan Tribune was not able to obtain a comment from an RSF spokesperson, but a press statement issued on Wednesday confirmed the dispatch of a force from the Peace Shield units to Kulbus locality in West Darfur state.

The statement stated that the force, led by Major General al-Nur Ahmed aims to monitor the overall security situation in several localities.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on Wednesday expressed deep concern about the security situation in West Darfur and the violence that has begun three weeks ago.

“Atrocious levels of armed conflict in Darfur have levelled settlements and displaced hundreds of thousands of people this year alone,” said Will Carter, Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Sudan.

“National authorities and the international community must urgently deal with the bloody reality of this spiralling violence.”

Over 100 people were killed and around 15 villages or displacement sites were burned to the ground in the Kerenik and Jebel Moon areas of West Darfur, according to the humanitarian group.

(ST)