Khartoum: At least 17 civilians have been killed in Sudan’s Darfur region, officials said Friday, in the latest violence between rival groups that has left dozens dead this week alone.
Recent fighting has seen heavily armed forces battle in the rugged Jebel Moon mountains in West Darfur state, close to the border with Chad. On Thursday, fighting killed 17 people and also left “dozens of injured and missing” as well as “four villages completely burned”, said Adam Regal, spokesman for the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, an independent aid organisation.
Regal accused the Janjaweed — many of whom have joined the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, de facto deputy leader of Sudan — of taking part in recent fighting. “Militias have been attacking the villages of Jebel Moon, setting fire to houses and using automatic rifle fire since Sunday,” a tribal leader told on condition of anonymity. “No government forces have arrived since the attacks on Thursday, and we are terrified of an attack at any time.”
