UN 'deeply shocked' by killing of West Darfur governor

By Behram Abdelmunim

KHARTOUM (AA) - The United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) expressed Thursday its dismay and deep shock over the killing of the governor of West Darfur state on Wednesday.

“The United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) is appalled and deeply shocked by yesterday’s killing of Governor (Wali) of West Darfur in El Geneina, Mr. Khamis Abdullah Abbaker,” UNITAMS said in a statement.

The mission strongly condemned “this heinous act.”

The UN mission in Sudan called for “the perpetrators to be swiftly brought to justice and the cycle of violence in the region to not expand further.”

It appealed to “the wisdom of the Sudanese people not to be drawn into the vortex of hate speech and ethnic polarization.”

The mission emphasized that “the crimes and violations committed during this conflict will not be ignored and should not pass without accountability.”

Abbaker was killed, shortly after he blamed the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group for violence in the state.

In a statement, the Sudanese army accused the RSF of abducting and assassinating the governor.

But the RSF denied any responsibility for the governor’s death.

The UN said on Wednesday that escalating attacks in Darfur could amount to “crimes against humanity.”

Sudan has been ravaged by clashes between the army and the RSF since mid-April. Nearly 1,000 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in the violence, according to local medics.

More than 2.2 million people have been displaced by the current conflict in Sudan, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday.

Disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the two military rivals over integration of the RSF into the armed forces — a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since fall 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency, in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

The transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi