Attack in Darfur (July 25, 2020)

Attack in Darfur (July 25, 2020)

Amber Maze

The Crane Center for Mass Atrocity Prevention strongly condemns the escalating violence occurring in the Darfur region of Sudan. On Saturday, July 25, approximately 500 armed militiamen attacked the village of Misterei in West Darfur, killing at least 60 people and destroying approximately 1,500 homesteads. In the days following the July 25 attack, six additional villages have been ransacked and destroyed causing thousands to flee from the violence. The massacres and scorched-earth policies witnessed during attacks over recent weeks are reminiscent of the actions taken by the Janjaweed militia during the height of the genocide in Darfur and are believed to have been carried out by its successor, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). 

The Crane Center for Mass Atrocity Prevention recognizes the increasingly precarious security and humanitarian situation unfolding in Darfur. The protection of civilians is of the utmost importance and we call upon the Sudanese government, United States government and United Nations to take specific measures to uphold the human rights of those living within Darfur:

1) The Sudanese government must provide robust measures of protection, including additional military forces to protect civilians from paramilitary groups murdering, raping and looting with impunity.

2) The Sudanese government must thoroughly investigate and apprehend those responsible for perpetrating ethnically motivated violence against the Masalit in Darfur, including the head of the RSF Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo.

3) The United States government must re-impose sanctions on the Sudanese government for their lackadaisical response to the ethnic violence that has been steadily increasing in number and virulence since January 2020.

4) The United Nations Security Council must postpone talks of a drawdown process of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) until security of the population and food resources within the region can be sustainably stabilized; human rights and civic processes can be justly upheld; and the democratic transition of the Sudanese government has been successfully carried out.

We stand in support of our friends and allies living within Darfur and within our own community. Visit Darfur Women Network to learn how you can help.