Sudan Kereneik Conflict, West Darfur Situation Report No. 01 (As of 1 June 2022)

This report is produced by OCHA Sudan in collaboration with humanitarian partners

HIGHLIGHTS

• The security situation in Kereneik and Ag Geneina localities in West Darfur State is calm but unpredictable.

• Aid agencies carried out several interagency missions to Kereneik town and Galala village and one mission to Murayat and Umtajok villages.

• As of 1 June, humanitarian partners have reached 124,000 people in Kereneik with some form of assistance.

• During the conflict 36 villages across the Kereneik locality were affected, of which five were completely looted and burned.

• About 24,000 families need shelter assistance as 16,800 homes were burned and 4,100 homes were damaged during the conflict.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

The security situation in Kereneik locality in West Darfur State is calm, but unpredictable, with no new fighting reported since 9 May 2022. The estimated number of people displaced from Kereneik following armed clashes between Arab nomads and the Massalit tribes between 22-25 April is estimated at around 125,000 people, according to inter-agency assessments carried out in April and May 2022. During the violence, at least 179 people were reportedly killed and another 143 injured, according to local authorities. Moreover, 36 villages across the Kereneik locality were affected, of which five were completely looted and burned, reports the International Organization for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix (IOM DTM).

Due to the insecurity, people’s movement remains limited in certain areas. According to the community leaders, farmers are not able to continue cultivating their farms due to the presence of armed groups and insecurity. The restriction of movement and access to farmland will impact the ability of families to cover food needs from their own production.

Similarly, people in rural areas have lost access to health and other basic services in Kereneik town due to insecurity.
Nomads in Rosi village have no access to health services and have to travel to Ag Geneina town to get medical treatment.

Over the past weeks, UN agencies and humanitarian partners in Ag Geneina have undertaken several inter-agency needs assessment missions to Kereneik and Galala villages. In addition, one mission took place to Umtajok and Murayat villages on 18 May. However, insecurity remains, posing a challenge in humanitarian operations. On the afternoon of 26 May, gunmen attacked two international NGO-contracted trucks in Kereneik locality, injuring a driver and a passenger and robbing them of their belongings. The two trucks were part of the inter-agency response monitoring mission to Kereneik, however, they were attacked after they separated from the mission convoy. The inter-agency convoy safely returned to Ag Geneina on the same day.

Humanitarian partners continue to meet the needs of people affected by conflict in Kereneik locality. As of 1 June, more than 124,000 people were reached with some form of humanitarian assistance including 124,000 with one-month halffood rations; 15,000 people with shelter and non-food items (S/NFIs); 94,000 people with hygiene and sanitation supplies.

In addition, 10 Rapid Response Kits (RRKs) were dispatched to provide health services for about 100,000 people for three months. Education partners provided examination fees for 9,525 Grade 6 and Grade 8 students in Kereneik to attend the national exams.