Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) is outraged about the recent escalation in violence in North Darfur, West Darfur and South Kordofan. Even as the international community looks at the current diplomatic processes in Khartoum with interest, it has shamefully looked away from the ongoing genocidal violence in Darfur and the innocent men, women, and children at risk.
Last Monday, armed militants in large groups killed and injured a currently unknown number of people in Foro Baranga, West Darfur, supposedly in retaliation for a man of their ethnic group being killed in the area on Sunday. According to news outlet Darfur24, these incidents resulted in ethnic violence between the two ethnic groups, and reports from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other sources indicate that the violence is ongoing and rather widespread, as well as responsible for displacing people formerly living in El Salam and El Shati. In response to the carnage in Foro Baranga and other armed attacks, the Acting Governor declared a two-week State of Emergency starting yesterday, including a curfew.
Also last Monday, a group of unidentified gunmen shot a passenger vehicle on its way from Gardoud Abdelsalam to El Jagrour in El Tadamon, South Kordofan, killing three passengers. In addition, an army soldier shot and killed a tea seller after a ‘’heated discussion’’ in Kadugli, South Kordofan last Saturday. A policy investigation team, working together with other security personnel, successfully apprehended three individuals who were believed to have committed thefts at three different vendors’ booths in the local marketplace on Friday. The accused were found with both the stolen merchandise and a sum of money.
Last Friday, a series of revenge attacks occurred in Birkat Seira, Saraf Omra in North Darfur, injuring two people and killing one. A young farmer was killed by two gunmen while returning from his farm. His family created a search team, apprehended the attackers, and turned them over to the police. In retaliation, the killers’ families attacked the village, assaulting and robbing farmers, using racist slurs, and destroying crops. Two women were also injured and had to be taken to the hospital for emergency surgery. The people of Birkat Seira have been experiencing this type of violence since 2003 when the genocide began. People are scared to leave their homes and security forces remain present at all times.
Four years ago today, then-president Omar al-Bashir was deposed in a coup. It was a turning point in Sudanese history, but the genocide Bashir’s government perpetrated remains ongoing. The people of Darfur have been experiencing a genocide for 20 years, and the ethnic violence that occurs today is emblematic of the genocidal policy enacted by the al-Bashir regime, while the perpetrators routinely share strong links to that same regime or its allies. Accordingly, DWAG calls on the international community to take strong accountability measures and pressure Sudan to stop the ongoing violence. We call on the international community, the United States, and the UN Security Council to take the following measures:
- Authorize high-level Security Council delegates to investigate all violence;
- Demand Sudan open up full humanitarian access to Darfur;
- Target leading perpetrators with sanctions, travel bans, and asset freezing;
- Impose measures of criminal accountability and support the ICC to investigate the past and present crimes and to bring those responsible to face trial;
- Authorize neutral UN or international forces to protect civilians to prevent the mass massacres of innocent civilians and restore peace and the rule of law.
During Genocide Awarness Month, it is especially critical that the global community does not turn a blind eye to the plight of innocent men, women, and children suffering from ethnic violence and poor humanitarian conditions in Darfur. We must speak up and demand sufficient humanitarian assistance for all in need, as well as accountability for those guilty of violence. Only by working together can we make a difference.
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