A Region Questions if it Will Ever be Free of Genocide
Fear emanates from Western Darfur in the shadow of the signing of the Darfur Framework Agreement. As the Transitional Government of Sudan takes these important steps toward peace, militia are rolling into the capital of Western Darfur leaving tragedy in their wake. As of Monday, Sudan had announced it would put a hold on the talks and send in troops to halt the violence. The Washington Post is now reporting the death toll at more than 24, with some victims burned to death and a few of them being children.
There is grave concern among our friends in Al-Junaynah, the capital of Western Darfur, of imminent and growing massacres. According to a local source, more than 20 armed militia vehicles were seen heading for Al-Junaynah on Monday. Multiple fatalities had already been reported. “The situation is really horrible everywhere in Darfur and the Sudan. All over another genocide is imminent. Please pray for us.”
All over another genocide is imminent. Please pray for us.
There had been hope among many that with the removal of former president Omar al-Bashir and the creation of the transitional government that those displaced by genocide might soon be able to return home to Darfur. Additionally, those who are already there might begin to find safety and normalcy in their lives. Unfortunately, the local militias and the Rapid Support Forces are doing all they can to make stability impossible for the new government.
Much of the struggle stems from a continuation of Bashir’s rule; of those who hope for a new future, and violent militias who wish to keep them from doing so. There is a fight for existence, as the people of Darfur push for a new country, free of a violent dictatorship, but the remnants of that dictatorship, often in the form of the RSF, wish to hold onto their power and to insure the failure of the new government.
While the Transitional Government finds its footing, the people of Darfur are again left to fend for themselves. As we heard from another friend in the region, “the government is absent completely.”