Al-Yurea-(Reuters) -TEL AVIV -Members of the Sudanese Masalit tribe in Israel are tormented as their family and friends are caught in the bloodshed set by both sides of Sudan’s conflict in the Darfur region, driving tens of thousands from their homes and fleeing to neighbouring Chad.
Residents of the area blame the violence, which has centered on the city of El Geneina in West Darfur state, on Janjaweed militias and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been fighting the army in the capital Khartoum and other parts of Sudan since April 15.
Ismail Baraka, leader of Israel’s Masalit tribe, told Reuters: “There is no internet there, but we still have contact with people telling us what’s happening in El Geneina right now.”
“The Janjaweed go from house to house, trying to open windows and doors and kill people. They go from house to house and ask, ‘Are you a Masalit?'”
Just over five thousand Sudanese live in Israel, mostly in Tel Aviv, and date back to the escalation of the bloody conflict in Darfur since 2003.
Last week, the United Nations sounded the alarm that the Masalit, the largest population bloc in El Geneina, had been targeted and ethnically motivated and killed amid fears of a repeat of previous atrocities.
Baraka said Masalit in Israel were raising money to send to refugees in Chad so they could buy food, water and medicine.
This article is translated from English
