Khartoum, Nov 10 (EFE).- At least 700 people were killed in two days in clashes between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in West Darfur, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
In a statement released late on Thursday, the IOM added that around 100 people also sustained injuries, while 300 others remain missing during the intense clashes that occurred on Nov. 4 and 5 in Geneina, the state capital of West Darfur.
The UN agency added that the clashes have forced the displacement of 3,000 people from Geneina to neighboring villages, with another one thousand fleeing into neighboring Chad due to the “tense and unpredictable” situation.
The clashes unfolded days after the RSF forces and its allied Arab militias allegedly massacred around 200 civilians in the town of Ardamata, near Geneina, after taking control of an important army base, according to Sudanese humanitarian organizations.
On Wednesday, the UN mission in Sudan said that it was investigating “serious human rights violations,” apparently committed by the RSF and their allied Arab militias in Ardamata against the Massalit community, an African ethnic group native to western Sudan and eastern Chad.
The RSF, originating from the former Janjaweed militias implicated in ethnically motivated genocide in Darfur (2003-2008), has bolstered its presence in the western region of Sudan after gaining ground the army in recent months.
The conflict between Sudanese army and RSF forces began on Apr. 15, after a process to integrate the former militia into the regular forces failed.
According to the United Nations, the ongoing conflict so far has claimed the lives of 9,000 and led to the internal and external displacement of more than six million, with around 25 million Sudanese in dire need of humanitarian aid. EFE
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