‘Collapse of security situation in Darfur’: Umma Party, ICG

The National Umma Party (NUP) has warned for a complete collapse of the security situation in Sudan's western region. In its latest report on Darfur, the International Crisis Group (ICG) calls on the Sudanese government to address the “concerns of all Darfur communities on issues such as security, land ownership, services and development”.

In the absence of the rule of law and state institutions, militias are controlling the war-torn western region, and can do as they like, the NUP said in a statement on Wednesday.  

The NUP pointed to the killing of Abdallah Younes Adam, Director of Expenses at the South Darfur Ministry of Finance, in Nyala on Tuesday.“The security situation has collapsed completely. Citizens do not dare to leave their houses anymore after 6pm.”

The statement, undersigned by Sarah Nugdallah, NUP Secretary-General and spokeswoman for the party, also referred to the upsurge of tribal conflicts in the region. “The most recent conflict erupted between Berti and Ziyadiya tribes in North Darfur, in which state vehicles and weapons were used by militiamen wearing military uniforms.”

She accused government agencies of fuelling the tribal conflict, and called on the warring tribes to “listen to the voice of reason, and give no opportunity to those wishing us evil”.

‘Chaos in Darfur’

In “The Chaos in Darfur”, a 19-page briefing released on Wednesday, the ICG urges the Sudanese government to disarm the militiamen, provide incentives to them and bring others to justice, and support communal dialogue and traditional reconciliation mechanisms.

They call on the authorities and the armed movements to reach a ceasefire, “synchronised with a similar one in the Two Areas [South Kordofan and the Blue Nile], including provisions for unfettered humanitarian access in both”, and to develop proposals to address the “concerns of all Darfur communities on issues such as security, land ownership, services and development”.

The UN Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council should “agree on a Sudan strategy and then properly support it with political backing and appropriate resources”.