Umm Dafuq, August 1(Darfur 24)
Dozens of Sudanese refugee families, fleeing violence and violations in the neighboring Central African Republic CAR, have arrived in the Sudanese border town of Umm dafouq.
Adam Al-Hassan, one of the refugees who have recently returned to the city of Umm Dafuq in South Darfur State, told Darfur 24 that they faced campaigns of violence and abuse, particularly from the Kara community in Birau County, which borders Sudan.
Al-Hassan added that dozens of refugee families, most of them young men, women, and children, fled Birau refugee camp at night and returned to Sudan on Wednesday due to the communal violence and incitement campaigns against the refugees.
He indicated that other groups are on their way back.
A woman, who spoke to Darfur24 on condition of anonymity said that another group of refugees who had moved before them last Tuesday were subjected to a looting incident by armed men. Local youths looted their property and raped (4) girls in an area about 6 kilometers from the city of Birau.
Last week, refugees were robbed after they received humanitarian aid. It is worth noting that the incident stemmed from the local community’s resentment toward the refugees, after the humanitarian organization removed food tokens of hundreds of local community members in Birau camp.
According to a camp community leader, the refugees have been subjected to repeated violence from the Kara community in Birau County, and the situation in the camp is becoming more tense by the day.
Sudanese refugees in CAR are suffering from food shortages and sexual exploitation in exchange for aid in the camps in Birau, located about 60 kilometers from Sudan’s western border with the Central African Republic.
According to the International Organization for Migration, the number of Sudanese refugees CAR has increased by 82% since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April of last year, compared to 2022, most of them are women, children, and the elderly.