SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: AP - Ethnic clashes in Darfur could reignite Sudan’s old conflict,

10/2/2021: AP - Ethnic clashes in Darfur could reignite Sudan’s old conflict, by Samy Magdy

 AP’s feature piece reports on the “latest burst of violence” after the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force that had been in Darfur (UNAMID) for a decade ended its mandate, and was “replaced with a much smaller, political mission [UNITAMS]”.

AP attribute fighting in South and West Darfur that killed around 470 to “a familiar scenario: a dispute between two people or a minor crime turning into all-out ethnic clashes”. Mohammed Osman, a Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said witnesses said the government forces’ response was too little, too late. “Anyone could have predicted that as soon as the UN troops departed, some of these militias would begin attacking,” said John Prendergast, co-founder of The Sentry.

A UN experts report covering March to December said tribal clashes and attacks on civilians increased sharply “in both frequency and scale,” with acts of sexual and gender-based violence committed daily and going unaddressed.