Cairo: At least 14 people have died in the past three days of bloodshed in Sudan's long-troubled Darfur region, according to two activists on Tuesday.
Conflicts broke out in the West Darfur province on Sunday, according to Adam Haroun, a local activist, after Arab motorcycle gunmen in the remote town of Fur Baranga killed a trader.
According to Adam Regal, a spokesman for a local organisation that assists with the management of refugee camps in Darfur, the killing sparked a series of retaliatory attacks and looting between Arabic and African tribal groups. According to Haroun, the violence persisted on Tuesday and the death toll was likely to increase.
Also Read: Donald Trump travels to New York to appear in court
The governor of West Darfur imposed a nighttime curfew across the entire state on Monday and proclaimed a state of emergency that would last for two weeks.
Analysts attribute a rise in violence in recent months among various tribal groups in Sudan's remote regions to a power vacuum and tensions brought on by political unrest.
At least five people were killed in clashes in West Darfur at the end of March. In the remote southeast of the African nation, in the Blue Nile province, fighting killed over 170 people in October of last year.
Also Read: Easter closures at frontline cemeteries due to hazardous war debris
Since a Gen. Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan-led military coup overthrew Sudan's ill-fated transition to democracy in October 2021 and toppled a Western-backed government, the country has been engulfed in chaos.
The UN expressed its "deep concern" after a video that appeared on social media showed a man urging the assassination of the UN special representative in Sudan. The UN said it was "deeply concerned" about the incident on Tuesday.
The man, who identified himself as Abdelmoneim in the video, said, "I request a fatwa." I volunteered to kill Volker (Perthes) myself.
The statements were made at what appeared to be a small conference organised by an umbrella organisation made up of Islamist groups linked to Sudan's deposed president Omar Bashir.
"The language of the incitement and the violence will only deepen divisions on the ground," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarri said during the briefing on Tuesday.
Sudan's ruling military and various pro-democracy forces signed a preliminary agreement in December promising to resume the transition to democracy in response to intense international pressure. However, Sudan's political factions have yet to come to an agreement on a final deal after months of wrangling and cross-party negotiations mediated by the UN and other international actors. Islamists in Sudan are still adamantly opposed to the agreement.
Darfur's conflict began in 2003 when rebels, primarily of the ethnic Central and Sub-Saharan African community, launched an uprising, alleging oppression on the part of the Khartoum-based government, which was dominated by Arabs.
Also Read: China's 'threatening' drills near Taiwan are condemned by Germany
A campaign of aerial bombings and janjaweed militia raids using scorched-earth tactics was launched by the then-government, led by Bashir. Over the years, up to 300,000 people may have been killed in Darfur, and 2.7 million have been forced from their homes.