‘Inconceivable suffering’ in West Darfur

The Deputy Governor of West Darfur declared the death toll to have reached at least 850, with more than 2,000 left wounded due to the devastating violence that engulfed the region in the past two months. In a statement on Tuesday, the official pointed to the countless examples of razing and arson, which have left hundreds of homes and markets completely destroyed.

Deputy Governor El Bukhari Abdallah told Radio Dabanga that “the city of El Geneina and the state are entirely afflicted and isolated from the world as the fighting continues”.

“The magnitude of suffering is inconceivable in El Geneina. Our communications have been cut off, we have no food, no drink, and no shelter,” Abdallah said.

He stated that the Darfur governor has officially declared El Geneina as a “disaster city”. He went on to add that “the desperate humanitarian situation has been the result of militiamen deliberately targeting resources, looting markets, and drying up water resources”.

He called on the people of Darfur and the international community to aid the people of El Geneina, adding that the “militiamen invaded El Geneina in light of the silence”.

The deputy governor refused to acknowledge the ensuing violence as a result of tribalism. Instead, he put forward to Radio Dabanga that “what is going on is a strategy within the framework of the war to destroy the entire state”.

He added that militiamen are killing indiscriminately, as well as burning and destroying essential institutions in the state.

DBA lawyer killed

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) reported that fellow lawyer and associate Abdelkhaleg Arbab was killed alongside eight members of his family in an attack on their home in the El Shati neighbourhood of El Geneina last Monday.

DBA said that that Arbab was targeted for his work in indicting perpetrators of crimes committed against internally displaced people in the Krinding and Mistri areas of West Darfur.

The association went on to state that Arbab has been threatened several times, most recently in the past few days. Lawyer Mohamed Ahmed Kodi was also killed in the past few days in a similar attack.

Six newborns dead

Six newborn babies have died in the Ed Daein Teaching Hospital earlier this week, according to Shafee Barar, the Minister of Health in East Darfur.

Barar stated that the six deaths in the state’s capital of Ed Daein, are due to the poor supplies the hospital is being forced to operate with, as a result of the security situation caused by the ongoing war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The minister says the state has suffered with a “shortage of medicine, laboratory solutions and equipment, blood bags, dialysis solution, and medical gases”, as well as “the lack of a functioning ambulance for the hospital”.

Doctors at the Ed Daein hospital are reportedly in their third week of strike action in protest against the delay in payment of their salaries.