MSF documents ‘scale and intensity of ethnic violence’ in Darfur

A retrospective mortality survey carried out among Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad by Epicentre, the medical research and epidemiology centre of Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF), confirms the appalling scale of the wave of violence that swept through the region last June. ‘El Geneina is now virtually empty of the Masalit community that used to live there.’

The MSF study, issued on Tuesday, was carried out among Sudanese people now sheltering in three refugee camps in eastern Chad, asking people who in their family have died during 2023, and how.

“The survey results corroborate the testimonies of some 1,500 Sudanese wounded treated by our teams in collaboration with the Chadian health authorities in the surgical unit at Adré hospital since last June,” says Claire Nicolet, MSF head of emergency programmes in Chad.

“Many of the wounded reported that Arab militiamen were targeting them because of their Masalit ethnicity and shooting at them in El Geneina.”

A refugee who fled to Adré from El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, said that “They told us that this wasn’t our country and gave us two options: immediately leave for Chad or be killed.”

Another patient treated by MSF in Adré related that “They were asking us what tribe we were from. They were targeting Masalit people.” 

El Geneina is now virtually empty of the Masalit community that used to live there, the report states.

“The mortality rate increased 20-fold from April onwards, reaching 2.25 deaths per 10,000 people per day, with a peak in June; 83 per cent of those killed were men,” the report reads. “Violence, particularly with firearms, was the cause of death in 82 per cent of cases. The majority of deaths took place in El Geneina, while a quarter occurred while people were fleeing to Chad. Nearly one man in 20 aged between 15 and 44 was reported missing during this period,” MSF stated.

Another episode of violence took place in November in Ardamata, northeast of El Geneina. “Hundreds of people have been reportedly killed, when the militias took control of the area which hosted a large camp for displaced people and a garrison of the Sudanese armed forces.”

“There were 333 wounded, mainly people coming from Ardamata with gunshot wounds, treated in Adré by MSF and Chadian Ministry of Health medical teams during the month of November,” says Nicolet.

The retrospective mortality study was carried out in August and September by MSF Epicentre teams in the Toumtouma, Arkoum and Ourang camps, which were home to 6,000, 44,000 and 25,000 people, respectively, at the time. A representative sample of 3,093 people (heads of households) was asked about the number and cause of deaths in their household in 2023, before and after the start of the conflict. 

Significant financial, logistical and human resources are still needed to step up the humanitarian response, particularly emergency food aid, in Adré and the surrounding camps, MSF concludes. Its teams “continue to provide a wide range of medical care (including for paediatrics, maternal health, nutrition, trauma surgery, vaccinations, mental health) in Adré hospital and in various clinics and health centres, and to work to improve access to water, hygiene and sanitation services”.

The World Food Programme (WFP) reported in early December that it had scaled up response in eastern Chad, as the number of arrivals from Sudan had surpassed half a million. “In support of the Government of Chad’s response to the Sudan crisis, WFP has assisted 537,000 refugees, returnees and the most vulnerable among host communities in Eastern Chad.”

El Gezira

Yesterday, an MSF team returned to Wad Madani, capital of El Gezira, after two weeks of absence, after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the city on December 18.

“After making the tough decision of suspending its activities and evacuating the remaining team from Wad Madani two weeks ago, MSF held talks with GoS and RSF to ensure access of staff and neutrality of its mission. As a result, an MSF team has returned to Wad Madani today,” the medical aid organisation announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday.