{"id":20042766,"date":"2023-06-19T17:55:26","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T15:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20042766"},"modified":"2023-07-10T17:43:16","modified_gmt":"2023-07-10T15:43:16","slug":"horrifying-testimonies-from-west-darfur-as-another-masalit-sultan-relative-is-killed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/horrifying-testimonies-from-west-darfur-as-another-masalit-sultan-relative-is-killed","title":{"rendered":"Horrifying testimonies on West Darfur ethnic targeting as other Masalit Sultan relative is killed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ADR\u00c9 \/ EL GENEINA – June 19, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Survivors of the ongoing attacks in El Geneina, capital of West Darfur, are giving shocking testimonies of the widespread abuses against civilians, especially Masalit tribe members. The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) reported the killing of Amir<\/em> Badawi Bahreldin, cousin of the Masalit sultan, in an attack on his home in El Geneina as civil society notables in the town are targeted.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement yesterday, the DBA said that the sultan’s family and other notables of El Geneina\u2019s civil society were targeted with arbitrary killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement also referred to the killing of Amir<\/em> Tarig, brother of Sultan Sa’ad Bahreldin, and his cousin, Amir Abubakar Tajeldin, a week ago<\/a>. At least 16 people were killed on that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DBA said it had also received news from several sources that one of its founders was killed in West Darfur and so was the former head of the Kerending Crimes<\/a> Indictment Commission, who had received death threats along with his colleagues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DBA urged its members in El Geneina, especially the members of the Kerending Crimes Indictment Commission<\/a>, to leave the city as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worse than Rwanda<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The targeting of civil society members, but especially of Masalit people, has brought several groups to liken the situation in El Geneina to the Rwandan Genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mujeebelrahman Yagoub, Assistant Commissioner for Refugees in West Darfur, characterised the violence<\/a> in El Geneina last week as \u201cworse than what happened in Rwanda and worse than the violence in Darfur in 2003\u201d. He explained that corpses are piling up in the streets and that \u201centire families have been exterminated and buried in mass graves along the way\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A week ago, The West Darfur Doctors Union said that \u201cwhat happened in Rwanda [in 1994] is now being repeated in El Geneina\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One month ago, the Sudanese Women of Change organisation estimated that as many as 2,000<\/a> could have been killed in the violence in El Geneina up until that time and wrote that a \u201cRwanda genocide scenario is happening now\u201d in El Geneina \u201cand the world is just watching\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Visible destruction in El Geneina: The remains of a camp for internally displaced people in May (Ayin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Shocking testimonies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Survivors of the attacks in El Geneina are giving shocking testimonies of the widespread abuses against civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After her arrival in the border town of Adr\u00e9 in eastern Chad, a woman told Radio Dabanga that she lost a large percentage of her weight due to the lack of food because the markets were completely destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe depended only on the night to find our food, which was not available.\u201d \u201cI tried to escape several times with my children and did not succeed, but this time I was able to escape with a number of women neighbours\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She explained that she moved with her companions by car from a point outside the city. She said that she left her husband in El Geneina because a number of men were killed while fleeing with their families. \u201cI don’t know what happened to him since I left.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another survivor who arrived in Adr\u00e9 told Radio Dabanga that she kept in contact with her mother by phone, even though they both lived in El Geneina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mother lives in the part controlled by the gunmen and the Rapid Support Forces, while I lived in the areas under the control of the army,\u201d she explained. \u201cPedestrians were targeted by snipers\u201d so it was too dangerous to visit each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She managed to escape eventually but explained that the \u201cimages of corpses dumped in the streets do not leave my memory.\u201d She wished her family safety and said she hopes to see her mother soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Images of corpses dumped in the streets do not leave my memory’<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A third survivor who fled to Chad told Radio Dabanga that escaping on foot is not safe and any escape by car is also unsafe and very expensive. \u201cThe militiamen ask those fleeing about their tribal background. Masalit are not allowed to cross the border to Chad,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMembers of other tribes are allowed to cross the border but are subject to inspection. There are more than ten militia checkpoints within thirty kilometres on the way to the Chadian border, where the people\u2019s mobile phones and money in their possession are taken from them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Masalit are not allowed to cross the border to Chad’<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Tens of thousands of refugees<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the killing of the West Darfur governor<\/a>, also a Masalit tribesman, on Wednesday last week, about 57,000 more people left El Geneina, human rights defender Osman El Basri told Radio Dabanga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore than 35,000 people left for Ardamata [in West Darfur] to seek refuge in the army garrison in the area, while 22,000 people left for Adr\u00e9 [in Chad], including 30 vehicles carrying people who were wounded during the continuous attacks on the city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pointed out that those fleeing to the east were subjected to acts of robberies and killing in the Shukri area, while those fleeing westward to Adr\u00e9 were subjected to similar treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chadian governmental Refugees Committee reported yesterday that about 20,000 residents of El Geneina arrived in Chad \u201cin the past two days\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chadian President Mahamat Idris Deby visited Adr\u00e9 on Saturday to investigate the situation of those fleeing the war in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visit of the Chadian president coincided with the influx of tens of thousands of Sudanese West Darfuri refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctors Without Borders\/M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res (MSF) said that five Sudanese died in the hospital of Adr\u00e9 after being shot by gunmen while fleeing Darfur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, they also said that over 600 war-wounded Sudanese arrived in eastern Chad hospital in just three days.<\/p>\n\n\n

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People receiving support in the emergency wards set up in Adre\u0301 hospital by MSF teams to cope with the influx of war wounded from Sudan. (Johnny Vianney Bissakonou\/MSF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Children<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also stories of young often orphaned children making the journey to Chad alone. Doctor Hussein Ahmad, head of MSF emergencies in Adr\u00e9, reported the story of a five-year-old boy who carried his baby sister to Chad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey arrived alone at Adr\u00e9 Hospital after their mother was killed inside their home in El Geneina. The young boy carried his six-month-old sister and followed the people who were fleeing the city until he got to the hospital.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘They arrived alone at Adr\u00e9 Hospital after their mother was killed inside their home’<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The UN Children’s Agency (UNICEF) said that more than a quarter of a million children have been displaced in the Darfur region. At least 330 children were killed, and more than 1,900 others were injured as a result of the clashes in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New refugee shelter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrangements to shelter new refugees are continuing in eastern Chad amidst the large influx.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radio Dabanga’s correspondent in eastern Chad reported that of 700 new tents are constructed in Gaga camp to house the new refugees. \u201cThe first space in the camp includes 1,500 tents, and the second 330 tents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also mentioned unconfirmed reports from the border about the deportation of those stranded in Adr\u00e9 town to a new camp in Katfu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resident solidarity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday, residents of Adr\u00e9 and surroundings areas donated more than a thousand sheep, more than a thousand sacks of rice, more than a thousand 100 kg sacks of flour, and cooking utensils to organise a festive meal, called Geidouma<\/em> (gift), in the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Radio Dabanga correspondent said that the Geidouma was organised in places where large numbers of displaced from El Geneina are concentrated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe aim of this initiative is to embody the intimate solidarity of the Chadian people with the Sudanese people in their ordeal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chadian mobilisation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also increasing evidence that the Chadian military is mobilising troops near its border with West Darfur, but Adr\u00e9’s Prefet Alo Mohamed denies that there have been any recent clashes between Chad’s army and the RSF. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 29, Chadian soldiers reportedly captured 60 Arab militiamen chasing people from Misterei into Chad. They were disarmed and detained. Previously, they had received defecting SAF troops who were also disarmed and sheltered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chad fears rising tribal tensions<\/a> as fighting in Darfur continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US condemnation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States of America condemned what it called \u201cthe horrific violence in Sudan\u201d, especially Darfur. Washington said the atrocities in Darfur can primarily be attributed to the RSF and affiliated militias. Yet both sides to the conflict are responsible for the violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It especially condemned reports of widespread sexual violence<\/a> and ethnic-based killings in West Darfur by the Rapid Support Forces and their allied militias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ethnic tensions<\/a> that seem to underpin the killings have a long and bloody history in Sudan, especially during the  2003 Darfur civil war and subsequent genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many refugees from El Geneina describe their attackers as \u2018Arabs\u2019 and compared to the janjaweed militias who fought for the Sudanese government in Darfur since the war broke out in 2003 and were largely made up of Arab herding tribes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The janjaweed were recruited from Arab nomadic tribes to repress a revolt over ethnic marginalisation<\/a> and are held responsible for the genocide against Darfuri farmers<\/a> and other non-Arab\/African groups, to which the Masalit belong, and were also called \u2018devils on horsebacks\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the displaced people in West Darfur are from the Masalit, non-Arab African farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RSF are so contentious in Darfur because they were established by the Al Bashir regime<\/a> in August 2013 and grew out of the janjaweed. They have in the past been predominantly recruited from the Rizeigat Arab herding tribe, which RSF Commander Mohamed \u2018Hemedti\u2019 Dagalo hails from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent attacks by Rizeigat herdsmen on Daju villages in South Darfur were said to be \u201corganised\u201d and amounting to \u201cethnic cleansing\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n