In Sudan, in April 2019, the fall of Omar el-Bashir, prosecuted for genocide by the International Criminal Court, represented an ounce of hope for the populations of Darfur. But it's the other way around...

Africa report

Darfur: tensions in El-Geneina, which has become a huge camp for displaced people [1/3]

Audio 02:17

View of El Geneina, West Darfur.

Violence took place here between Arab nomads and members of the non-Arab Massalit ethnic group in January 2020. © AFP

By: Eliott Brachet Follow

3 mins

In Sudan, in April 2019, the fall of Omar el-Bashir, prosecuted for genocide by the International Criminal Court, represented an ounce of hope for the populations of Darfur.

But the opposite has happened: the region bordering Chad is once again plunged into a spiral of violence.

In El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, tension is high between communities.

In December 2019 and January 2021, two successive attacks by Arab militiamen targeted and razed the Kirinding displacement camp, mainly populated by the Massalit tribe, on the outskirts of the city.

Since then, nearly 100,000 people have sought refuge in the city center.

All public buildings have been converted into reception centres.

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From our special correspondent in El-Geneina

In the courtyard of the Ministry of Education of El-Geneina, alleys of tents and makeshift shelters.

More than 1,000 people are crammed here, with no hope for the moment of returning to live in their homes.

Zeinab Mohammed fled the Kirinding massacre.

“

Today, we can't go back to Kirinding.
The Arabs don't let you rebuild your house.
The police and the army cannot protect us.
These Arabs are killing everyone and no one is stopping them.
We want to be safe.
We want international protection

,” asks Zeinab Mohammed.

In June 2021, the mandate of the UN mission deployed in Darfur for 14 years ended.

The blue helmets have packed up.

This deterrent had also failed to prevent Kirinding's attacks.

Since then, tensions have been at their height between communities.

Sheikh Ibrahim, a Massalit chief, deplores an unbearable daily life.

Here, in the city, the war is 7 days a week. And no representative of the state moves a finger.

The rainy season is upon us, but we cannot go to sow in our fields.

The wheat we receive is not enough.

Look at those children in front of you how rickety they are.

Even if we tried to return to our lands to cultivate, Arab militias would threaten to take part of our crops.

This is extortion!

“All have lost confidence in the government”

In the offices of the ministry, converted into bedrooms.

Mohammed Ahmad and four other students revise their exams.

The university is an exception in the city.

Whether you are Arab, Massalit or Four, we all study together.

But it's true that in the rest of the city, the reality is quite different.

The events in Kirinding have stirred up hatred in people's hearts.

Today, the city is segmented by district, each tribe on its side.

All have lost confidence in the government.

That's why weapons circulate massively.

Everyone wants to do justice to themselves.

West Darfur is close to collapse.

The number two of the Sudanese junta, General Hemetti, moved to El-Geneina to sponsor peace agreements between tribal chiefs affiliated with the al-Bashir regime.

He promised to pay out of his own pocket for the return of the displaced.

But here nobody really believes in it while his forces were involved in the massacres of Kirinding.

Report Africa - Darfur: tensions in El-Geneina, which has become a huge camp for displaced people [1/3]

Darfur: tensions in El-Geneina, which has become a huge camp for displaced people [1/3]

“All have lost confidence in the government”

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