Darfur: 9 civilians killed, dozens injured, 4 villages burned

An attack by armed groups on a number of Sudanese villages northwest of Kutum, North Darfur state, on Monday and Tuesday killed nine civilians and wounded dozens.

The events began, according to eyewitnesses, after citizens found on Monday the bodies of two members of the Arab tribes near the village of Senana. Then the families of the victims gathered in the city of Kutum, where the bodies were transported, and carried out revenge campaigns, burning four villages and displacing their residents.

The number of dead, according to the authorities, reached nine, including wounded people who were killed while being transported to Kutum for treatment. This is in addition to a large number of injuries. Dozens were missing during the attack, including women, children and the elderly, who have not been found so far.

Eyewitnesses described the situation in the area as dire, accusing the authorities of failing to protect civilians. They emphasized that despite the presence of about 20 Rapid Support Forces pickups at the site of the event, they did not intervene while seeing the attackers on motorcycles and others on four-wheel drive vehicles.

The Sudan Liberation Movement - Transitional Council (SLM-TC) accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of colluding with the attackers and said that some of its members sided with their tribes. The movement accused unnamed parties of fueling civil disputes and causing new clan strife, possibly reaching the stage of civil war.

The Darfur Bar Association issued a statement saying that armed militias launched a large-scale attack on the villages of Senana, Koranga, Umm Ketira and Hillat al-Faki, among other villages in Kutum, North Darfur state, and looted citizens' properties and displaced dozens of families.

The statement explained that the attackers used four-wheel drive vehicles equipped with weapons and that their members were wearing the uniforms of the official forces, while other armed groups were on the backs of animals.

The statement held the military authorities fully responsible for the deaths of unarmed Sudanese citizens. It stressed that the solution lies in restoring constitutional life, disarming citizens, forming a democratic civilian government, and establishing a single national army with a unified national creed.

During the past three years, a number of Darfur states witnessed bloody tribal conflicts, which claimed the lives of hundreds of citizens and displaced thousands. Many parties, internally and externally, accuse the security and military establishments of failing to protect civilians.

Two years after the government signed the Juba Peace Agreement with five Darfurian armed factions, the security situation in the region is still deteriorating. The signed armed movements attribute the matter to the Khartoum government's non-compliance with the security arrangements protocol, while many other parties believe that the movements themselves bear the responsibility for the events.