Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) - The country has been at war for a week. The population of the capital Khartoum woke up on the first day of Eid el Fitr, the feast of the end of Ramadan, to the sound of shelling and anti-aircraft artillery. At 6 a.m. this morning of April 21, a 72-hour truce was supposed to go into effect for the holiday, but it didn't and, once again, each of the warring sides accuses the other of being responsible for violations. The three-day truce for the al-Fitr holiday was proposed yesterday, April 20, by Sudanese political forces who contacted both Hamidati and Burhan. In Khartoum, the fighting never ceased completely, but only diminished in intensity at times. According to unofficial estimates, the air raids of the army and the use of heavy artillery by the militiamen have caused thousands of deaths among the soldiers and the militiamen.
However, clashes are also raging in the long-unstable Darfur region, exacerbating an already acute humanitarian and security crisis.
"International media are focusing on Khartoum, but problems regarding the humanitarian situation and human rights violations are also happening here", reports a press release from Nyala, the main city in South Darfur, one of the five states in the region. "Many people do not have access to basic needs such as water and medicine, so many people affected by the crossfire in Nyala and other parts of the region as clashes between two heavily armed camps occur in the center of major cities and civilians hiding in their homes are running out of supplies". It also says that members of the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have looted homes and public buildings in Nyala, including the offices of humanitarian organizations, thus jeopardizing the delivery of essential goods to many refugee camps around Darfur Housing, offices and warehouses of the World Food Program in Nyala have been looted, which led to the loss of almost 4,000 tons of food intended for people suffering from hunger.
Darfur is the stronghold of the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. The group originated from the Darfur Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, created by the government in the early 2000s against non-Arab rebel groups in Darfur. These militias have been accused of genocide and many of their victims are still displaced in Darfur. Rebel groups in the region that have traditionally opposed the RSF are still active and could be dragged into the new conflict. Human rights activists also fear that local Arab communities links to the RSF could exploit the situation to settle scores with other communities. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 21/4/2023)
