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West Darfur Clashes Require Urgent & Strict Measures to Avoid More Bloodshed

Al-Sammani Awadallah

Tribal clashes have renewed  between Arab nomads and local farmers in  West Darfur resulting in the killing of more than 200 and hundreds of injuries a matter that was condemned by the United Nations

The mayhem that began followed the discovery on April 21 of two nomads’ bodies near Hashaba village, outside of the town of Kreinik.

According to a preliminary report, 201 bodies have been identified on roads and other public places, but the death toll is likely to climb.

Many people have been killed inside their houses. The situation is not conducive to carrying out additional counts. The number may increase the Displacement Tracking Matrix in Sudan, produced by the U.N. International Organization for Migration, estimates that 7,500 to 12,500 households around Kreinik sought refuge in a local military compound following the clashes.

Armed people had stormed the hospital, demanding treatment for their colleagues wounded in the clashes.

“The situation in El Geneina was tense and the main hospital is closed because health workers were not safe to carry out their duties.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the fighting, which represents one of Sudan’s deadliest episodes in recent years. A statement released  said he deplored “the killings of civilians in Kreinik locality as well as the attacks on health facilities,” and called for “an immediate end to the violence.”

The U.N. Security Council ended its Sudan peacekeeping mission in 2020.

The World Food Program reported earlier this month that at least 18 million people across Sudan are likely to face acute food insecurity by September because of the combined effects of insecurity, economic crisis, and poor harvests.

The surge in violence which was condemned by all local, regional and international organizations put the central government in a critical situation as it was shouldered the responsibility and was asked to launch an urgent investigation to bring those who caused the clashes to book so that such incidents do not repeat in the future.

The national, regional, and international organizations should immediately move to rescue the situation by providing shelter and food within complicated economic conditions.

There should be s thorough study to look for the roots of the clashes and find out the solutions to stop such bloody conflicts in the future.

It is high time to reach a compromise amid the components of the area to mend the social fabric and absorb the bitterness.

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