Darfur: conflict claimed more than 200 lives in June, UN-African mission reports

The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur today reported that 221 people lost their lives in the war-torn Sudanese region due to armed conflict and criminality in June, the vast majority of deaths being attributed to inter-tribal fighting.

The clashes between the Rizeigat and Misseriya tribes claimed nearly 140 lives last month, but the peacekeeping mission, known as UNAMID, said that no further fighting has been reported since the groups signed a peace accord on 28 June.

In the past seven years an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million others have been displaced as a result of fighting between rebels and Government forces backed by allied Janjaweed militiamen in Darfur. All sides are accused of serious human rights violations.

UNAMID, has been in place since the start of 2008, succeeding an earlier AU-only mission in the war-torn region. Its headquarters are in the North Darfur state capital of El Fasher.

In a related development, the mission today presented football equipment to leaders from three camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) for an inter-community youth tournament.

The competition seeks to empower the region's youth by inspiring them to shun violence and channeling their energies towards uniting communities, rather than dividing them.

Hassan Gibril, head of UNAMID's North Darfur office, praised the leaders of the IDP camps for being “ambassadors of peace in [their] communities,” as well as for working with the mission “in the search for lasting peace and enduring security in Darfur.”

Dozens of teams from the three camps took part in the preliminary level of the tournament, with 6 teams – two from each site – will compete in the finals which kick off on Tuesday.