At least 168 killed amid violence in Sudan’s Darfur, aid group says

SMA NEWS – DARFUR
At least 168 people were killed when rival groups clashed in Sudan’s western Darfur region on Sunday, an independent aid group has said.

Dozens of others were wounded, the General Co-ordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur said .

Darfur, torn by a brutal civil war in the 2000s, has experienced a dramatic increase in violence over the past six months.

The deadly violence there is mainly caused by disputes between ethnic groups over land, water, livestock and grazing.

A spokesman for the aid group, Adam Regal, blamed Janjaweed tribesmen for the recent of bouts of violence and pillaging in the Krink region.

The violence in Krink broke out on Friday when armed tribesmen attacked villages of the Massalits in revenge for the killing of two tribesmen, the aid group said.

On Sunday, the Janjaweed attacked the area again, killing and torturing residents and burning homes.

“Today, Krink lost scores of dead and injured and, until this moment, the number of victims could not be counted,” the group said.

Mr Regal told AFP that as many as 168 people were killed on Sunday alone.

“The Sudanese government failed to stop mass killings, raping, displacing people, burning, arrests and torture,” the group said.

“The Sudanese government is in cohort with armed militias, supporting them with cash and hardware, and provides them with legal immunity.”