Sudan’s Central Committee of Doctors on Friday aid the violent clashes between rival groups have so far claimed at least 125 lives and left 208 others injured in El Geneina, the capital city of Sudan’s West Darfur State, reported CGTN Africa.
“The committee counted a new toll of victims, bringing the number of those who were killed so far to 137 and the injured to 221,” the committee said in a statement.
The clashes erupted on April 3 in El Geneina city after two people died and two others were wounded when a man shot at members of the Al-Massalit tribe.
On April 5, Sudan’s Security and Defence Council declared a state of emergency in West Darfur state and authorized forces to adopt all necessary measures to end armed clashes and gain control of the situation.
The UN also stopped humanitarian operations and flights in the city, which is the hub of humanitarian aid in the region, affecting over 700,000 people.
Sudan’s Darfur region had previously seen a major armed conflict that began in 2003 between forces of the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted in April 2019, and members of ethnic minorities. According to the UN, the violence left some 300,000 people dead and more than 2.5 million displaced, mostly in the early years of the conflict.
On December 31, 2020, the UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution that ends the mandate of the UN-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) in the region. About 16,000 UNAMID soldiers, who have been deployed in Darfur since 2007, are set to complete their exit in July.
Meanwhile, a UN Integrated Transitional Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) will deploy during 2021 to support the transitional period in the country.
Notably, The Sudanese transitional government signed a peace agreement with several rebel groups, particularly from Darfur, in October last year. But some insurgent groups in that region have not signed the peace agreement.
