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HOW HAS THE CURRENT CONFLICT AFFECTED WEST DARFUR?
On 15 April 2023, the alliance between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) collapsed into violence over a power struggle. The conflict initially erupted in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, but has spread across the country (OCHA accessed 09/07/2023; ACLED 26/05/2023). The SAF and RSF had been recruiting and training fighters in Darfur since 2022. There have been reports of existing tensions between the two leaders of the forces, and they were both fighting over power and influence before signing a Political Framework Agreement in December 2022, which aimed at returning Sudan to civilian rule (ACLED 26/05/2023; RVI 05/2023; Ayin Network 26/03/2023).
On 24 April, fighting spread to North and West Darfur, and clashes between the SAF and RSF quickly included various communal militias (MSF 06/06/2023 a; The Guardian 30/04/2023). Darfur is an area that has long faced interethnic violence and marginalisation and has become a hotspot of fighting. The RSF formed in Darfur during the 2003 Darfur war and continues to draw significant support in the area from the Rizeigat and other Arab tribes, including former Janjaweed groups (ACLED 26/05/2023). El Geneina locality in western West Darfur has experienced the most severe fighting levels outside of Khartoum (IOM 27/06/2023).
Despite multiple ceasefire agreements, including most recent statement of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, which represents the SAF, on the intention to stop the war with RSF, the conflict has accelerated in West Darfur (SudanTribune 13/07/2023; Al Jazeera 27/06/2023 and 01/06/2023; Reuters 04/06/2023). On 14 June, the West Darfur Governor, Khamis Abdullah Abbakar, a member of the Masalit ethnic community, was violently killed, triggering more clashes and leaving Masalit communities without any representation. On 13 July, a mass grave was found outside El Geneina with at least 87 ethnic Masalit and others allegedly killed by RSF and their allied militia (OHCHR 13/07/2023; Le Monde 20/06/2023; The Guardian 15/06/2023).
Since 2019, there has been a resurgence of conflict in West Darfur, which the October 2021 coup accelerated before the outbreak of civil war in April 2022 (USIP 04/2022). The situation in West Darfur presents a complex and intricate set of dynamics and stakeholders, setting it apart from other regions in Sudan.