Violence in Sudan’s Darfur forced 57,000 to flee: UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed alarm over the violence in Sudan’s West Darfur region, saying the conflict forced 57,000 people to flee their homes over the past month.
The UN refugee agency said in a statement on Tuesday that the figure included 11,000 Sudanese people who had crossed into neighboring Chad.
UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said the refugees were scattered in several villages along the border in Chad and that, “The conditions are dire. Most are staying in the open or under makeshift shelters, with little protection from the elements. Food and water are urgently needed.”
Baloch said the UN refugee agency and other organizations were providing some humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese refugees, however, he added that, “The rate of refugee arrivals risks outpacing our capacity.”
UNHCR estimates that the number of refugees fleeing to Chad from West Darfur “could reach 30,000 in the coming weeks as tensions persist,” he said.
Conflict broke out in Darfur in 2003 after mostly non-Arab rebels rose up against the government in Khartoum, with UN reports projecting that up to 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since then.
The latest fighting in West Darfur was between an African tribe called Masalit and an Arab tribe called Rizeigat, which left two dozen dead earlier in the month.
“UNHCR teams on the ground are hearing accounts of people fleeing after their villages, houses, and properties were attacked, many burnt to the ground,” Baloch said, adding that the agency continues to seek “the international community’s support for the transitional government of Sudan in addressing the root causes of the conflict in Darfur.”
Khartoum has been negotiating with different rebel groups in the capital of South Sudan to end conflicts in Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan.
Rebels in these areas fought bloody campaigns against marginalization by Khartoum under ousted president Omar al-Bashir.
Bashir, who is behind bars for corruption and is awaiting trial on other charges, is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for his alleged role in the conflict. Bashir is also being investigated for his role in the 1989 coup that brought him to power.
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