Anadolu staff
15 June 2023•Update: 15 June 2023
ISTANBUL
More than 100 people have been killed in clashes in North Darfur state in western Sudan, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Thursday.
“Violent clashes in and around camps for the displaced in North Darfur have killed over 100 people,” Grandi said on Twitter. "There are shocking reports of horrific sexual violence against women and girls.”
The UN official warned that the situation will get worse "unless the parties to the conflict agree to end a fight that is destroying Sudan."
Sudan has been ravaged by clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group since mid-April. Nearly 1,000 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in the violence, according to local medics.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 2.2 million people have been displaced by the current conflict in Sudan.
On Wednesday, the governor of West Darfur state was abducted and killed by armed men, with the army blaming the RSF for his death.
UN warned on Wednesday that escalating attacks in Darfur could amount to “crimes against humanity”.
Disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the two sides about integration of the RSF into the armed forces -- a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.
Sudan has been without a functioning government since fall 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."
The transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar
