Two weeks of fighting between Sudan’s army and a paramilitary group have reignited violence in Darfur, a region that has been scarred by two decades of genocidal conflict that left as many as 300,000 people dead. A cease-fire that was scheduled to end on Sunday night fell apart on Saturday as the capital Khartoum came under artillery fire and airstrikes. However, the focus has now shifted to the Darfur region, where a security vacuum has emerged that diplomats and other observers fear may lead to civil war.
In Darfur, armed groups have looted health care facilities and burned households, while marketplaces have gone up in flames. Civilians there have begun arming themselves against marauding militias and against the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese Army. “The tensions and the fighting we’re facing, they could lead to a civil war,” said Ahmed Gouja, a human rights monitor based in Nyala, Darfur’s largest city.
The…
2023-04-29 11:33:29
Original from www.nytimes.com