Sudan war raises ethnic cleansing fears in Darfur

The Sudanese civil war pitting the army against the Rapid Support Force RSF is threatening to reproduce ethnical cleansing in Darfur and spill over to neighboring Chad.

Both warring factions have tried to recruit among local African and Arab tribes in an area where the wounds of the past genocide have not yet healed, according to aid workers and experts cited by numerous international media.

Attacks by the government backed Arab Janjaweed militias between 2003 and 2005 against Darfurians left 200,000 civilians dead and displaced 2.7 million others. The war also triggered diseases and starvations, further worsening the death toll.

Already, the RSF is reported to have attacked several non-Arab villages following disputes between nomads and farmers.

In late 2023, the RSF took most control of eastern Darfur after defeating the army.

With no end in sight to the Sudanese civil war, nearly half of the country’s 51 million population is in dire need of humanitarian aid.

The UN estimates the needs at 2.7 billion dollars. So far, funders have given only $145 million, about 5%, according to the UN humanitarian office, known as OCHA.