At Least 18 People Killed, Over 50 Injured In Western Sudan Clashes - Doctors' Committee

At least 18 people were killed and 54 others were injured as a result of armed clashes that took place in Sudan's Western Darfur region, a local doctors' committee said on Monday

KHARTOUM (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2021) At least 18 people were killed and 54 others were injured as a result of armed clashes that took place in Sudan's Western Darfur region, a local doctors' committee said on Monday.

The clashes started on Saturday in Western Darfur's capital of El Geneina, the committee said in a statement, adding that those injured were taken to hospitals for treatment.

A local medical source told Sputnik that surgeries at one of El Geneina's hospitals were suspended since Sunday amid the ongoing instability.

A civil conflict began in the western Sudanese state of Darfur in February of 2003, when rebel groups launched a campaign to overthrow the government.

Different sources estimate the death toll from the Darfur conflict to be between 300,000 and 500,000 people. More than 2.5 million people were displaced as a result of the conflict.

In late January, almost 130 people died as a result of armed violence in El Geneina. In the wake of hostilities, Charge d'Affaires of Sudan in Moscow Onur Ahmad Onur told Sputnik that his country's authorities planned to confiscate firearms held by tribes in the Darfur region.