Recent Clashes In West Darfur City Of Al Junaynah Kills At Least 10 Children - UNICEF

The recent wave of tribal violence in the West Darfur capital of Al Junaynah has killed more than 150 people including 10 children, UNICEF Represenatitve in Sudan Abdullah Fadil said in a statement on Friday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2021) The recent wave of tribal violence in the West Darfur capital of Al Junaynah has killed more than 150 people including 10 children, UNICEF Represenatitve in Sudan Abdullah Fadil said in a statement on Friday.

"It is one week since the violence in Al Junaynah began," Fadil said. "Over 150 people have now lost their lives, including 10 children, the youngest under five years old. Too many lives lost. Too many young futures cut short."

Armed violence erupted in Al Junaynah after a skirmish last Friday at a camp for displaced people. An Arab man was reportedly killed in what began as a fistfight in the camp, igniting waves of retaliatory violence between Arabs and non-Arabs across West Darfur.

Fadil noted that only a year ago, similar "senseless violence" in the city killed more than 80 people, including children, and displaced many more. The UNICEF official called on tribal leaders, the tribes themselves and all young people in West Darfur to immediately halt the fighting.

"We must finally address the long-term root causes of conflict, and lay the foundations for lasting peace," he said.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNCHR) earlier on Friday noted that more than 100,000 people have been displaced and 250 people killed as a result of the intercommunal clashes, which started in West Darfur and spread to South Darfur the next day.