Fighters associated with a paramilitary force and their allied Arab militias went on a destructive rampage in a town located in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan. According to reports from doctors and the United Nations, this multiday attack on Ardamata in West Darfur province resulted in the tragic death of over 800 people.
This incident is just one in a series of atrocities occurring in Darfur as part of the prolonged conflict between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The unrest in Sudan erupted in mid-April, stemming from escalating tensions between Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the military chief, and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the RSF. This conflict emerged 18 months after both generals jointly ousted a transitional government through a military coup, abruptly terminating Sudan’s brief experiment with democracy after the ousting of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. a paramilitary force
Despite recent negotiations between the warring factions in Saudi Arabia, facilitated by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, the RSF has continued its advances in Darfur. Seizing control of entire cities and towns across the vast region, these developments occurred even as the parties attempted to engage in talks aimed at establishing a ceasefire, with the first round of negotiations proving unsuccessful.
The dayslong attack in Ardamata came after the RSF took over a military base in the town after a brief fighting on Nov. 4 with troops there, said Salah Tour, head of the Sudanese Doctor’s Union in West Darfur. He said the military withdrew from the base, adding that around two dozen wounded troops fled to Chad.
Spokespeople for the military and the RSF didn’t respond to phone calls seeking comment.
After seizing the military base, the RSF and their allied Arab militias rampaged through the town, killing non-Arabs inside their homes and torching shelters housing displaced people, Tour said.
“They violently attacked the town,” he said, adding that the RSF and their militias targeted the African Masalit tribe. “They went from house to house, killing and detaining people.”