Sudan: Survivors recount horrific details of West Darfur violence

Read Time:2 Minute, 2 Second

Survivors have recounted the horrific details of the latest bout of deadly violence to hit Sudan’s war-torn region of Darfur, where at least 168 people have been killed in fighting between Arabs and non-Arabs over the last five days.

Mohamed Abdullah Khatir, a 60-year-old from the village of Kreinik, told Middle East Eye that his son was among those killed on Friday, after he was shot in the head with a heavy artillery weapon.

“I saw the head of my son explode in front of my eyes as they shot him with a heavy gun while we were trying to flee,” Khatir said.

“That was brutal. We saw random killings that we have never seen. They attacked families inside their houses and harassed and beat women, children and elderly people. Mothers hid their children under beds to protect them.”

Darfur, which was ravaged by a civil war that erupted in 2003, has seen a spike in deadly conflicts since October which have been triggered by disputes mainly over land, livestock and access to water and grazing.

The latest bout of violence reportedly began on Friday when Arab cattle farmers found two of their relatives dead late on Thursday, near a non-Arab Massalit minority village in Kreinik, which lies some 80km from West Darfur’s provincial capital, Genena.

Witnesses told MEE that a pro-government militia in Rapid Support Forces (RSF) uniforms attacked villages in Kreinik, adding there were also clashes between paramilitaries and the army unit based in the area.

“They looted everything, including the properties, livestock, the market and then burned everything in the village including the stock of flour and food the people were saving for the dry season,” Abdo Alzain, 55, told MEE, adding that the attackers wore RSF uniforms and had surrounded the village from three directions.

“We lost everything. We counted 164 bodies so far but a lot of people are still missing. We can’t even evacuate the injured to Genena because of the security situation on the road,” he added.

The RSF is commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemeti – the de facto deputy leader of Sudan, according to rights groups.

On Sunday, a tribal leader from the Massalit minority described seeing multiple bodies in villages of the Kreinik region. Local media said on Tuesday that at least 168 people have been killed in the violence.

Source: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news