{"id":20067253,"date":"2024-01-14T10:13:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-14T09:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20067253"},"modified":"2024-01-14T16:53:27","modified_gmt":"2024-01-14T15:53:27","slug":"msf-documents-scale-and-intensity-of-ethnic-violence-in-darfur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/msf-documents-scale-and-intensity-of-ethnic-violence-in-darfur","title":{"rendered":"MSF documents \u2018scale and intensity of ethnic violence\u2019 in Darfur"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A retrospective mortality survey carried out among Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad by Epicentre, the medical research and epidemiology centre of M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res\u2019 (MSF), confirms the appalling scale of the wave of violence that swept through the region last June. \u2018El Geneina is now virtually empty of the Masalit community that used to live there.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MSF study<\/a>, issued on Tuesday, was carried out among Sudanese people now sheltering in three refugee camps in eastern Chad, asking people who in their family have died during 2023, and how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe survey results corroborate the testimonies of some 1,500 Sudanese wounded treated by our teams in collaboration with the Chadian health authorities in the surgical unit at Adr\u00e9 hospital since last June,\u201d says Claire Nicolet, MSF head of emergency programmes in Chad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany of the wounded reported that Arab militiamen were targeting them because of their Masalit ethnicity and shooting at them<\/a> in El Geneina.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A refugee who fled to Adr\u00e9 from El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, said that \u201cThey told us that this wasn\u2019t our country and gave us two options: immediately leave for Chad or be killed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another patient treated by MSF in Adr\u00e9 related that \u201cThey were asking us what tribe we were from. They were targeting Masalit<\/a> people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Geneina is now virtually empty of the Masalit community that used to live there<\/a>, the report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe mortality rate increased 20-fold from April onwards, reaching 2.25 deaths per 10,000 people per day, with a peak in June; 83 per cent of those killed were men,\u201d the report reads. \u201cViolence, particularly with firearms, was the cause of death in 82 per cent of cases. The majority of deaths took place in El Geneina, while a quarter occurred while people were fleeing to Chad. Nearly one man in 20 aged between 15 and 44 was reported missing during this period,\u201d MSF stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another episode of violence took place in November in Ardamata<\/a>, northeast of El Geneina. \u201cHundreds of people have been reportedly killed, when the militias took control of the area which hosted a large camp for displaced people and a garrison of the Sudanese armed forces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were 333 wounded, mainly people coming from Ardamata with gunshot wounds, treated in Adr\u00e9 by MSF and Chadian Ministry of Health medical teams during the month of November,\u201d says Nicolet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The retrospective mortality study was carried out in August and September by MSF Epicentre teams in the Toumtouma, Arkoum and Ourang camps, which were home to 6,000, 44,000 and 25,000 people, respectively, at the time. A representative sample of 3,093 people (heads of households) was asked about the number and cause of deaths in their household in 2023, before and after the start of the conflict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Significant financial, logistical and human resources are still needed to step up the humanitarian response, particularly emergency food aid, in Adr\u00e9 and the surrounding camps, MSF concludes. Its teams \u201ccontinue to provide a wide range of medical care (including for paediatrics, maternal health, nutrition, trauma surgery, vaccinations, mental health) in Adr\u00e9 hospital and in various clinics and health centres, and to work to improve access to water, hygiene and sanitation services\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Food Programme (WFP) reported in early December that it had scaled up response in eastern Chad<\/a>, as the number of arrivals from Sudan had surpassed half a million. \u201cIn support of the Government of Chad\u2019s response to the Sudan crisis, WFP has assisted 537,000 refugees, returnees and the most vulnerable among host communities in Eastern Chad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Gezira<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday, an MSF team returned to Wad Madani, capital of El Gezira, after two weeks of absence, after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the city on December 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter making the tough decision of suspending its activities and evacuating the remaining team from Wad Madani two weeks ago, MSF held talks with GoS and RSF to ensure access of staff and neutrality of its mission. As a result, an MSF team has returned to Wad Madani today,\u201d the medical aid organisation announced in a post on X<\/a> (formerly Twitter) yesterday.<\/p>\n