Daily Times

At least 213 people were killed in three days of violence between Arab and non-Arab groups in Sudan’s West Darfur, the state governor said, giving the first official toll for recent clashes. West Darfur has been gripped by days of deadly fighting largely centred in Krink, a locality of nearly 500,000 people and mostly inhabited by the African Massalit tribe. “This massive crime left around 201 killed and 103 wounded” on Sunday alone, said West Darfur governor Khamees Abkar in a video published late Tuesday. The violence first broke out on Friday and escalated when armed men attacked villages of the non-Arab Massalit in retaliation for the killing of two tribesmen, according to the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, an independent aid group. At least eight people were killed on Friday, Abkar said, confirming a death toll for that day already reported by the aid group. The state governor blamed government forces tasked with securing Krink and its environs for “withdrawing without any justification” as the main attacks began early Sunday. Krink town “was completely destroyed including government institutions,” Abkar said. “It is a crime against humanity.” The fighting on Monday spread to Geneina, the provincial capital of West Darfur.