6 people killed in Darfur unrest

At least six people have been killed following three days of unrest in the Darfur region, Sudan.

The unrest began when an unidentified group of people raided the village of Mouli, 50 kilometres south of Geneina, the capital of West Darfur on January 9, displacing large numbers of residents.

Concerned at reports of fighting & many deaths in El Geneina #Darfur. Call on all to remain calm & for law and order to be restored #Sudan

— Michael Aron (@HMAMichaelAron) January 11, 2016

A joint U.N. – African Union peacekeeping mission to the area urged the government to contain and investigate the violence.

“(UNAMID) has been receiving reports of continuous unrest and sporadic firing across El Geneina and in Mouli with an undetermined number of casualties. UNAMID calls on the government authorities to exert their utmost efforts to contain the situation and investigate the incidents,” it said in a statement.

While speaking to a local television station, Khaled Abdallah, governor of West Darfur said the rebels had incited displaced civilians leading to the death of 6 people while 3 others were injured.

“The situation in the town is now stable,” he added.

Conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when mainly non-Arab tribes took up arms against the Arab-led government in Khartoum, accusing them of discrimination.

The United Nations estimates that about 300,000 people have been killed, some 4.4 million people need aid and more than 2.5 million have been displaced.

Although the killings have eased, the insurgency continues and Khartoum has sharply escalated attacks on rebel groups over the past year.