MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2021) The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, urged the Sudanese authorities on Tuesday to prevent further violent outbreaks in the Darfur region after more than 100 people died in clashes over recent days.
Violence erupted in West Darfur and South Darfur this past Saturday, three weeks after a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission pulled out of the region and handed responsibility to the government in Khartoum. According to the West Darfur Doctors' Union, 129 people were killed in the latest intercommunal clashes.
"Any further violence needs to be prevented and perpetrators brought to justice. The protection and security of civilians must be ensured by the Sudanese authorities at all times, in accordance with the Government's National Plan for Civilian Protection," Borrell said in a statement.
Armed clashes in the Darfur region reached their peak in 2003 as rebels launched a campaign to overthrow then-President Omar al-Bashir, who was eventually ousted in 2019.
According to the United Nations, roughly 300,000 people died and almost 3 million people were displaced in the violence 18 years ago.
