UN, AU call for calm over ethnic clashes in Darfur
THE Sovereignty Council of Sudan has ordered the use of military force to maintain order in the South Darfur State, international media reported.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the Deputy Leader of the Council, said the decision was made after an escalation in violence and fighting in the Sudanese state.
Furthermore, the council banned tribal gatherings under emergency law immediately, to end tribal conflicts in South Darfur.
Clashes intensified in Darfur after the withdrawal of the international peacekeeping force AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (Unamid) from the country, said reports.
Many areas in Darfur have witnessed sporadic deadly clashes between Arab and African tribes over land, resources and grazing paths.
Tribal leaders reported that fighting persisted in the latest ethnic violence.
Heavy clashes last week between rival groups in Darfur claimed more than 45 lives, Reuters reported citing officials.
Fresh fighting broke out on Tuesday between the ethnic Africa Fallata people and an Arab tribe in villages outside Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, witnesses said.
A medical source also said that around 20 people were wounded, some critically.
One resident of South Darfur, Mohamed al-Fatteh, said fighting erupted after a member of the Arab tribe was killed.
The AU and UN missions in South Sudan as well as peace monitors appealed for calm and called on South Sudanese leaders to embrace dialogue
to ease tensions in the country, Xinhua news reported.
A high-level delegation comprising AU Mission in South Sudan, the UN Mission in South Sudan, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, including the leadership of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission urged the leaders to recommit to the full implementation of a 2018 peace deal, according to reports.
The presidency should also improve the communication between and among the members of the presidency, the delegation said in a joint statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
The statement came after two days of consultations with the presidency on the rising political tension in the country.
The delegation urged the transitional government to develop a roadmap to set out how to complete what needs to be implemented before the transitional period ends in 11 months.
There has been intermittent fighting since August last year between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-inOpposition under First Vice President Riek Machar and the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces in Unity, Upper Nile, and Western Equatoria states.
The War in Darfur – nicknamed the “Land Cruiser War” by Sudanese rebels – is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement rebel groups began fighting against the government of Sudan, which they accused of oppression.
The conflict pitted ethnic minority rebels who complained of discrimination against the Arab-dominated government of then-president Omar al-Bashir. Khartoum responded by unleashing the Janjaweed, mainly recruited from Arab pastoralist tribes, who were blamed for atrocities including murder, rape, looting and burning villages.
The scorched-earth campaign left 300 000 people dead and displaced 2.5 million, according to the UN.
The main conflict subsided over the years, but the region remains awash with weapons and deadly clashes often erupt over access to pasture or water.
Last month, AFP reported that separate clashes had broken out among herders and farmers in the mountainous region of Jebel Moon in West Darfur, leaving at least 35 people killed.
IOL News asked lawyer and mediator Vasu Gounden on Saturday for comment on the situation Gounden, who is the Executive Director of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), said that as the civil society organisation was involved in the mediation efforts in Sudan, he could not currently comment on situation.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) trial of Ali Kosheib, also known as Kushayb, will start tomorrow. Kosheib was a senior Janjaweed commander. The trial offers the first opportunity to see a leader face prosecution for massive crimes committed in Darfur nearly 20 years ago.
“Kosheib’s trial is a long-awaited chance for victims and communities terrorised by the notorious Janjaweed militia and government forces in Darfur to see a leader held to account.
“In the face of steep odds and no other credible options, the ICC is serving as the crucial court of last resort for Darfuris,”, said Elise Keppler, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch.