60 Dead, Dozens Injured in Violence in Sudan’s Darfur

A new wave of violence has killed more than 60 people and injured dozens in Sudan’s Darfur region, according to Agency reports. The government said it will deploy forces in the region which has been suffering from a civil war since 2003.
“More than 60 people were killed and over 50 others injured in an attack against Masteri administrative unit, some 40 km south of El Geneina, capital city of West Darfur State’’ official SUNA news agency reported on Monday. “On Saturday, armed militias attacked Masteri area, which lasted nine hours,’’ the report said.
In the meantime, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement that “this is one of the latest security incidents that left several villages and houses burned, markets and shops looted, and infrastructure damaged’’.
It added “the escalation of violence in different parts of Darfur region is leading to increased displacement, endangering the agricultural season, causing loss of lives, livelihoods and driving growing humanitarian needs’’.
Meanwhile, amid the increasing violence in Darfur region, the Sudanese government announced that it intends to deploy joint forces in the region.
To this end, according to SUNA, Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced the establishment of joint forces that would be deployed in Darfur’s five states and localities to protect the citizens and secure the agricultural season.
Earlier, according to SUNA, Sudan’s Security and Defence Council stressed the importance of imposing the state sovereignty through the use of legally appropriate forces “to protect lives and properties, stop all security disorders and confront the outlaws’’.
It said the council also stressed the need to urgently send forces to all sites of security events in the country to achieve stability.
For years, efforts failed to end the tribal conflicts, which have become a concern for the local population and the authorities of the troubled region.
There were many reasons behind the increasing violence in Darfur, including the security disorder and the armed movements which facilitate the tribes to easily obtain weapons, besides the absence of authority in many parts of the region.
The transitional government in Sudan has embarked on peace talks in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, with armed groups from Darfur to reach a peace deal inorder to end the conflict in the region.