Arab News

A militia attack in west Darfur killed at least 48 and injured 97, Sudan’s state news agency reported on Sunday.

The Doctors Syndicate of West Darfur confirmed in a statement that the attack began on Saturday in the city of El-Geneina.

The statement said that the medical personnel were making efforts to provide medical care to the wounded despite a shortage of supplies and nursing staff.

The committee issued an urgent call to secure health facilities and provide means of armed transportation in order to transport medical personnel to government and private treatment institutions.

Medical personal also need assistance to reach those who are wounded and stranded in the areas of clashes, as well as deliver medical supplies to facilities that house the wounded, the statement said.

The committee said that there were many cases that needed urgent surgery pending in hospitals due to the severe shortage of staff.

The Doctors Committee appealed to fellow medical and health personnel to be ready to attend whenever safe transportation is available.

The attack came just weeks after UN peace-keepers began withdrawing from the region, where violence is increasing, and was triggered when a member of the Masalit tribe stabbed a member of an Arab tribe, human rights organisation the Darfur Bar Association said in a statement.

“Armed militias took advantage of the incident and attacked El Geneina from all sides,” the association said, as well as the nearby Kreinding camp for internally displaced people, from where SUNA said there was now a wave of people moving towards the city.

The association accused the militias of looting and human rights abuses.

Similar incidents have occurred in Darfur since conflict began in 2003, when the government of Omar al-Bashir armed militias to help repress a revolt.

On Saturday, the governor of West Darfur declared a state of emergency, authorising the use of force in order to stabilise the situation and imposing a curfew.

While the military had begun to deploy, the bar association said the commander for the region had not responded to the state governor’s directives.

(With Reuters)