As of November 24, 2023, The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from Nairobi killed more than 800 civilians in West Darfur, Sudan, according to the Guardian. In addition to these deaths, these forces also raided and assaulted members of the Masalit community, which is located in a suburb in West Darfur, by going door to door and rounding up members of the ethnic group.
When Sudan gained independence in 1956, there were a total of 2.5 million Sudanese people killed as a result of internal conflicts, which later resulted in a civil war. This civil war then resulted in the formation of South Sudan, which still exists today. Furthermore, from 2003 to 2005, President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, along with other Arab militias, such as the Janjaweed, committed a genocide in Darfur, causing at least 200,000 deaths of non-Arab ethnic groups, and more than 2 million individuals to flee the region.
More than a decade after, in 2019, the International Criminal Court charged al-Bashir with the commission of genocide, and he was removed from power to be replaced by a transitional government. However, this transitional government lasted no more than two years, until it was overthrown by the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) and the RSF, which had developed into the Janjaweed army militias. Soon after, tension between the SAF and the RSF had grown and evolved into a brutal war between the two groups, which ended up killing more than 10,000 individuals and displaced at least 6 million.
Currently, as a result of the ethnic cleansing occurring in Western Darfur, many individuals from the Masalit and other survivors have fled to Chad. However, the Sudanese Army Forces followed and conducted a large number of “spree of killings, shelling, unlawful detentions, sexual violence, ill-treatment, and looting,” according to HRW news. While the death toll in November for these attacks was extremely high, the death toll of civilians fleeing Sudan was significantly more, as anywhere from 1,300 to 2,000 civilians have been reported dead. There have also been multiple videos of militants beating a group of men, posted on social media. As of now, 8,000 individuals have fled from Sudan and have settled in Chad, joining 450,000 people, although mainly women and children, who had been “displaced by the attacks in West Darfur notably between April and June,” according to HRW News.
Agencies are reportedly doing all they can to help with these atrocities. For example, the U.N.’s Refugee Agency is providing shelter, safety, and financial assistance to purchase emergency kits and basic goods for all those who have been displaced and who are taking donations. Furthermore, the medical aid association is also assisting in providing mental and medical help to those in Sudan and Chad. Lastly, organizations such as UNICEF, Save the Children, and the World Food Programme are working to raise money and awareness to provide basic healthcare, nutrition, education, and psychological support to all who have been affected by the genocide.
If you are interested in donating to help any of these organizations raise money for the people suffering in Sudan and Chad, here are links to the fundraising organizations: Save the Children, UNICEF, Medical Aid Association, The U.N. Refugee Agency or World Food Programme.
