Fighting in Darfur Kills 280 Sudanese: NRC

On Monday, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reported that at least 280 people died over the weekend in the city of Geneina, the capital of the West Darfur region.

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This escalation of violence occurs despite the fact that the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) signed an agreement on Thursday to guarantee the safe flow of international aid and protect civilians and humanitarian personnel.

Signed in the Saudi city of Jeddah, this agreement was the result of mediation by Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Nations.

"For the second time in three weeks, Geneina was the center of senseless clashes over the weekend, just hours after the Jeddah deal was announced," NRC said.

May 15 marks one month since fighting broke out in Sudan. Destruction and the number of civilian deaths continue to mount despite repeated ceasefire announcements.

"The appalling levels of violence taking place in West Darfur are inhumane," NRC Director for Sudan William Carter said, adding that one of his NGO members was injured.

For weeks, the people of Geneina have been trapped in the city, unable to escape, without access to vital healthcare and basic necessities. In addition, power and network outages have severely hampered communications.

"We are still unable to provide emergency aid in Khartoum and Geneina, where the fighting has displaced most of our colleagues," Carter said.