Janjaweed in Darfur burn, loot refugee camp next to UN peacekeeper compound

A version of this post appeared in Enough Said. The views expressed are the author's own. 

Confirming reports that first emerged from local sources and Radio Dabanga, new satellite imagery from March 26, 2014 shows more than 400 huts, tents, and temporary shelters burned by Sudanese government-backed Janjaweed forces in Khor Abeche.

The destruction at a South Darfur camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) is located near a peacekeeping base.

The images were captured by the Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) and analyzed by DigitalGlobe Intelligence Solutions.

The photos reveal that most of the destruction affected structures that were next to or adjacent to the peacekeeping compound used by the African Union - United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The compound itself was not damaged.

UNAMID has said it is protecting thousands of displaced civilians at several bases, including Khor Abeche, and the SSP image shows a large group of people towards the top middle area inside the UNAMID compound.

A UNAMID spokesman tells SSP that peacekeepers and IDPs at Khor Abeche were first alerted of a possible attack to the camp on March 21.

The population of the camp, about 3,000 people, took refuge at the UNAMID's base. The following day, while the peacekeepers protected those within the compound, about 300 heavily armed men set fire to the nearby IDP camp.

Eyewitnesses to the attack on Khor Abeche camp say the assailants burned to death a sheikh, injured many residents, kidnapped local leaders, and looted property and livestock while also destroying water wells, homes, and a hospital.

Despite the praise UNAMID has received for its efforts from the African Union, the deaths and injuries raise critical questions about the will and capacity of the peacekeeping force to deter such attacks and implement its civilian protection mandate outside its compound.

News reports indicate that the Sudanese government-supported Rapid Support Forces (RSF) -- also called the Rapid Response Forces (RRF) -- led the attack on Khor Abeche.

The group of 6,000 fighters is attacking civilians and torching homes throughout the area.

In North Darfur’s mountainous East Jebel Marra area, some areas have been both bombed and burned of late as Janjaweed ground attacks and Sudan Air Force (SAF) attacks escalate.

SAF air strikes and Janjaweed attacks have exacerbated conditions for 215,000 people who are newly displaced across Darfur since the beginning of the year, including almost 68,000 who are displaced in South Darfur’s violence.

Humanitarian organizations estimate that some 59,000 people are displaced from South Darfur’s Um Gunya area, in the wake of clashes between the RSF and the rebel Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi (SLM-MM) group.

Civilians throughout areas beyond South Darfur are also fleeing waves of violence, including infighting among rebel forces, political power struggles, and inter-communal clashes in North Darfur.

Although not holding the government of Sudan responsible for the atrocities committed by the Janjaweed militia, the US Department of State condemned the attack in Khor Abeche and expressed concern at the escalating violence committed by Sudanese government-backed forces and rebel groups.

This report originally appeared on the Satellite Sentinel Project.