Sudan’s conflict fuels fears of civil war in Darfur

After a ceasefire in the Sudanese capital faltered, two weeks of fighting between the country’s army and a paramilitary group have reignited violence in Darfur, a region marked by two decades of genocidal conflict that has left as many as 300,000 people dead. came to life.

A ceasefire that was due to end on Sunday night fell apart on Saturday as the capital, Khartoum, came under artillery fire and airstrikes. But attention has now turned to the Darfur region, which has created a security vacuum that diplomats and other observers fear could lead to civil war.

armed groups in Darfur looted healthcare facilities and burned households, while marketplaces have went up in flames. Civilians there have begun to arm themselves against marauding militias and against the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese army.

“The tensions and fighting we are facing could lead to civil war,” said Ahmed Gouja, a human rights monitor in Nyala, Darfur’s largest city.

The wider conflict in Sudan between the two warring factions has killed more than 500 people and injured 4,500 since fighting broke out in Khartoum on April 15. Tens of thousands more have fled the country, an often dangerous attempt to reach safety in neighboring countries such as Egypt, Chad and Ethiopia.

On Saturday, a bus convoy of US citizens from Khartoum reached the city of Port Sudan, on the Red Sea. Countless other civilians are trapped in Khartoum and other areas of violence, often in proximity of the dreaded Rapid Support Forces.

But in Darfur, the fighting has also created a security vacuum that has been exploited by militias and armed tribes. wave of random attacks in return for citizens in recent years.

In West Darfur, Arab communities have been mobilizing alongside the Rapid Support Forces in recent years and carrying out attacks against non-Arab African groups, including the Masalit group, said Mohamed Osman, a Sudan researcher with Human Rights Watch. In return, the Masalits have collected weapons and organized themselves into self-defense militias, he said.

Tensions have been raging for decades between Arab and ethnic African groups in Darfur, a region the size of California. But the more recent instability dates back to the early 2000s, when the country’s former dictator, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and the Sudanese military recruited Arab fighters, known as the Janjaweed, to fight against mostly non-Arab groups in rebellion. came to crush the state.

A widespread campaign of rape, murder and ethnic cleansing followed. According to the United Nations, as many as 300,000 people died and 2.7 million others were displaced. The International Criminal Court opened an investigation into the genocidal violence and indicted Mr al-Bashir on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in 2009.

The Janjaweed was transformed into the Rapid Support Forces in the 2010s, the group now fighting its former ally, the Sudanese military.

The leader of the group, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdanbetter known as Hemeti, is from Darfur, and analysts fear he will try to seek refuge in his native region if the Sudanese army defeats his forces in Khartoum.

The scale of violence has varied across Darfur since the conflict broke out this month. Nyala, in South Darfur, and El Fasher in the north were hit by heavy fighting in the early days of the conflict. But in recent days, fighting has eased in both areas and local citizens’ committees have been created in Nyala to enforce the ceasefire, Ahmed said.

“The dynamics in Nyala and El Fasher are the same as in Khartoum,” said Mr. Mohamed of Human Rights Watch. “The Rapid Support Forces are fighting the Sudanese forces and civilians are caught in the crossfire.”

The situation is more alarming in West Darfur, particularly in the town of Geneina, where the United Nations and aid agencies have reported the killing of at least 100 civilians.

According to Idriss Hassan al-Zahawi, a local civil society observer, the Sudanese army clashed with Rapid Support Forces on Thursday and militias attacked several neighborhoods in the city. “The conflict there has taken on a social dimension,” Mr al-Zahawi said in a voice message, referring to growing tensions between Arab and ethnic African groups.

One of the main hospitals in the area has been looted and MSF staff, who work at the hospital, have been unable to reach it. The group has had to halt most of its activities in West Darfur, it said in a statement.

More than 20,000 people have crossed from Darfur to neighboring Chad since the start of the conflict, according to the United Nations, and another 3,000 have sought refuge in the Central African Republic.

But humanitarian agencies are predicting an even greater influx of refugees in the coming weeks, with the United Nations saying as many as 270,000 people could move into Chad and South Sudan if violence and fighting continue.

“The families who have fled have taken everything – furniture, beds – as if there is no return, at least in the short term,” said Jérôme Merlin, deputy country director for Chad at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. , the body’s refugee organization, which visited the border area earlier this month.

Aida Alami And Declan Walsh reporting contributed.