West Darfur governor killed as war rages in Sudan

GOOBJOOG NEWS | DAFUR: West Darfur state governor Khamis Abakar has been killed, local media reports.

The killing of the governor comes hours after publicly blaming the deaths of civilians on the Sudan paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RFS), amidst fighting which has spread into cities in the western part of the country.

According to media reports, two government sources said the RSF was responsible for the killing.

The Sudanese army also took to social media to accuse the RSF of “kidnapping and assassinating” the governor saying the recent killing adds to the RSF record of crimes against the Sudanese people.

The RSF have not commented on the accusations.

Darfur region governor said the slain administrator was abducted before being killed hours after an interview on a television station where he claimed that civilians were being killed, calling for urgent international intervention.

“Civilians are being killed randomly and in large numbers,” told Al Hadath TV earlier on Wednesday.

The United Nations Wednesday said the conflict in Sudan had displaced over 2 million people and warned that the attacks in Darfur could amount to “crimes against humanity”.

The RSF forces together with its allied fighters have intensified fighting in the city over the past week killing and wounding hundreds, according to United Nations officials.

Volker Perthes, the UN envoy in Sudan, said on Tuesday that as the situation deteriorated in Darfur, he was alarmed by the situation in el-Geneina, which had taken on an “ethnic dimension”.

“There is an emerging pattern of large-scale targeted attacks against civilians based on their ethnic identities, allegedly committed by Arab militias and some armed men in Rapid Support Force (RSF)’s uniform,” Perthes said in a statement.

“These reports are deeply worrying and, if verified, could amount to crimes against humanity,” he added.

• By Fauxile Kibet