Darfur Refugees Witness Increase in Ethnically Motivated Violence

People fleeing Sudan’s West Darfur for Chad due to RSF takeovers and continued violence
ADRE, Chad, Nov 7 (Reuters) – A new wave of ethnically-driven killings in Sudan’s West Darfur has caused an influx of refugees fleeing to neighboring Chad, as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took over the main army base in the state capital, El Geneina.

On Tuesday, refugees were observed crossing from Darfur into Chad at Adre, about 27 km (17 miles) west of El Geneina, where they reported witnessing killings by Arab militias and RSF forces targeting the Masalit ethnic group in Ardamata, an outlying district in El Geneina.

Incident reports detail how the RSF and allied Arab militias conducted extensive attacks targeting the Masalit, El Geneina’s ethnic African tribe, between April and June. Public denial of ethnic cleansing in El Geneina by Arab tribal leaders has conflicted with accounts of RSF forces engaging in targeted killing raids in Arabata and causing mass displacement in Darfur.

The momentum of violence reached a peak when military commanders abandoned the army base in Ardamata, which was subsequently destroyed by a drone strike last week. As army troops withdrew from their base, civilians were left vulnerable to armed incursions, resulting in a humanitarian crisis and the displacement of more than six million people, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The war has also driven over 500,000 people to seek refuge in Chad.

Witness accounts from refugees in Chad recount harrowing stories of large-scale violence against civilians, including torture, rapes, and executions. After RSF attacks in Ardamata, thousands more people are expected to flee but have been prevented from doing so by the RSF at the border.

U.N. officials and medical charity MSF have sounded alarms regarding the surge in violence and mass displacement, with reports of executing men based on their ethnic identity and mass killings of civilians. The situation in Darfur has spurred calls for international intervention to protect civilians and allow for humanitarian access.

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