The wave of recent violence in West Darfur has left many shocked observers asking: who was involved in the mass atrocities that occurred, and what are the drivers of the violence and its root causes? In what ways does the violence relate to the October 2020 Juba Peace Agreement that should have brought peace to Darfur and other conflict areas in Sudan but is obviously failing to do so? Finally, what does the violence mean for the junta and the relationships between the different components?
Four children between the ages of 9 and 14 were seriously injured when an unexploded ordnance detonated in Kereinik, West Darfur. The exploded device was a remnant of the attacks on Kereinik last month, which are described as a genocide by the Higher Committee to Stop the Massacres in West Darfur
The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that between 85,000 and 115,000 people were displaced due to violence in Kereinik, West Darfur. OCHA says in its latest report that a “calm and tense” situation prevailed in Kereinik, West Darfur, during the past five days.
The Wali (governor) of West Darfur, Gen Khamis Abdallah Abakar, has called on all sectors of society to renounce violence and tribalism and to be alert “in order to abort the conspiracies woven by the enemies of peace”.
For two decades, Darfur has been groaning and bleeding. It was inhabited by death and destruction, and in its bloody conflicts, foul fire spread to burn the tribe’s youth alive, in the worst manifestations of ethnic and racial obsession, and in light of the enforced disappearance of the rule of law, and the complete absence of the state and its institutions.