Recent tribal clashes in Sudan's West Darfur region forced 1,860 people to cross the border into Chad last week, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday (April 13th).
Read also: Sudan: state of emergency in West Darfur where clashes left at least 87 dead
"
The refugees, who are predominantly women, children and the elderly, fled their homes in villages near the border after a series of deadly clashes that began on April 3,
" killing at least 144 people, Babar Baloch, spokesperson for UNHCR said in a statement.
Some have been displaced several times in recent months.
In January, two weeks after the end of the UN-African Union (UNAMID) joint peace mission in Darfur, similar clashes had already left more than 200 dead, most of them in West Darfur, a region plagued by instability.
"
The refugees who have arrived in Chad bear witness to the destruction of their homes and possessions, and to targeted attacks on IDP sites
," Babar Baloch continued.
In the UNHCR office in Farchana, eastern Chad, “
conditions on the ground are dire.
Displaced families live in the open or have found shelter in the shade under trees or in makeshift shelters.
They have almost no protection from the elements in an area where the temperature can reach 40 degrees during the day,
”Babar Baloch said.
The conflict in Darfur erupted in 2003 between forces of the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir, deposed in April 2019 under pressure from the streets, and members of ethnic minorities who considered themselves marginalized.
The authorities had deployed armed militias, composed mainly of Arab nomads, accused in particular of "
ethnic cleansing
".
The violence left some 300,000 dead and more than 2.5 million displaced, mainly during the first years of the conflict, according to the UN.
The transitional government signed a peace accord in October with several rebel groups, notably in Darfur.
But some insurgent groups in the region have not signed it.
On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was "
dismayed
" by the resurgence of violence in West Darfur.
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