Sudan: A UN official has warned that violence against civilians in Sudan is “verging on pure evil.” The statement comes as the humanitarian crisis in the country worsens and ethnic violence surges in the western region of Darfur.
The war between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began on April 15 after weeks of rising tension between the two sides.
“We continue to receive unrelenting and appalling reports of sexual- and gender-based violence and forced disappearance, arbitrary detentions, and grave violations of human and children’s rights,” Ms. Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the top U.N. aid official in Sudan, told reporters.
“What is happening is verging on pure evil. The protection of civilians continues to be of major concern,” the official added.
According to Ms. Nkweta-Salami, about 25 million people, which is more than half of the population, need humanitarian help and protection. Also, more than six million people have fled their homes and are displaced inside Sudan or in neighbouring countries.
“We have recently received disturbing reports about escalating violence and attacks against civilians, including what appears to be on an ethnic basis in Darfur,” the official added.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has reported that more than 800 people have been killed by armed groups in Ardamata in West Darfur, an area that so far has been less affected by the conflict.
“We have received these reports from new arrivals in Chad; these are refugees fleeing the Darfur area that are talking about armed militias going from house to house, killing men and boys,” UNHCR spokesperson Mr. William Spindler told reporters in Geneva.
According to a conservative estimate by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the Sudan conflict so far.
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