Sudan Violence ‘Verging on Pure Evil’ in Darfur, UN Warns

The United Nations has again warned of soaring human rights violations in Sudan’s Darfur region, describing the situation as “verging on pure evil” .

The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, who described the current conditions as “horrific and grim”, gave the warning on Friday as the conflict between the army and paramilitaries intensifies.

She said there has been unrelenting and appalling reports of sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detentions and grave violations of human and children’s rights.

Nkweta-Salami said she was worried about the risk of a repeat of the genocide of the early 2000s in this region of western Sudan.

Since April, forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah Burhan, Sudan’s de facto head of state, have been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

In the latest wave of violence, the U.N. refugee agency reports that more than 800 people had been killed , nearly 100 shelters razed in the last few days by armed groups in Ardamata in West Darfur, an area that so far had been less affected by the conflict.

It also warned in a statement that extensive looting had taken place, including of UNHCR relief items.

UNHCR Chief, Filippo Grandi, echoed Nkweta-Salami’s warning of the danger of a repeat of the horrors witnessed two decades ago when the Janjaweed militia was unleashed in response to a rebel uprising under the government of Omar al-Bashir .

UNHCR said it was preparing for a new flood of refugees from the region into Chad, which is already hosting hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees.