Civilians pay heavy price for Darfur violence

KHARTOUM, Sudan

It was not the first time for Haways Eltoum, 35, to flee her home in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

The mother of three had to leave the village of Kushkosi near Jebal Moon mountains in West Darfur state this week amid tribal clashes between rival armed groups.

Eltoum, who lost her 13-year-old son in the violence, walked for three days to reach Elgenena, the capital of West Darfur state.

She now lives in the Ardamatta camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) on the outskirts of Elgenena with no shelter, food, water or medicine.

“The Janjaweed militia has attacked our village and nearby areas, killing men, looting our livestock and food, burning everything and abducting girls,” Eltoum told Anadolu Agency.

Similarly, Aisha Mohamed Abdallah, 40, lost her mother as she fled the village of Sirba along with her six children. “They attacked our village and killed at least 15 men,” Mohamed told Anadolu Agency.

“We had to run. We lost our money, livestock and harvest,” she said. “In one moment, we became a displaced family that has nothing to eat.”

The Sudanese woman said dozens of villages had been burnt down inside and around the mountain area amid the raging tribal violence.

“On our way from Sirba to Elgenena, we saw dozens of villages burnt in the areas of Selea, Gafalo, Hilat Faki, Haraza, Hilat Koko and Timan,” Abdallah said.

Insecurity

Local medics say at least 35 people have been killed and hundreds injured in the violence between March 5 and 12.

Ibrahim Adam Osman, a member of the local Doctors Committee, said hundreds were admitted into Elgenena hospital since the violence started.

“What we saw is a massacre with brutal attacks against civilians amid suspect silence from local authorities,” Adam said. “However, we will keep our work to try to help our people.”

He said there is no real health care in Jebal Moon.

“The medical situation is too bad as there are no health facilities in that area except for a small clinic in Salea city,” he said. “Insecurity in the entire area has turned the situation even worse.”

Several areas in Darfur witness sporadic deadly clashes between Arab and African tribes as part of conflicts over land, resources, and grazing paths.

In January, at least 100 people were killed in Jebal Moon in attacks by armed groups, forcing nearly 20,000 people to flee their areas, according to local medics.

Lack of aid

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan (OCHA) estimates that thousands have been affected by the current bout of violence in Jebal Moon.

“An estimated 68,500 live in Jebel Moon locality and more than 46,600 people are in need of life-saving support,” it said in a statement.

Fatima Tiarab, a local aid worker in the Ardmatta camp, said dozens of children and elderly women have split from their families and left the IDPs camp amid the absence of humanitarian aid.

“We are hosting them with us in our small houses in the camp and trying to assist them with the little food and water that we have as majority of the aid organizations have left the region,” she said.

In 2003, Darfur was ravaged by a deadly conflict in which more than 300,000 people were killed and nearly 2.5 million displaced from their homes, according to the UN.