A study conducted by a human rights center in the United Kingdom concluded that fires used as a weapon in Sudan "have destroyed more villages and towns in the western part of the country," in April, at a rate greater than any other month since the war began over a year ago. The "Sudan Witness" project, managed by the nonprofit "Information Resilience Center," reported that 72 villages and towns were either destroyed or damaged due to fires last month, bringing the total number of villages affected by fires in Sudan to 201 since the conflict started in mid-April of last year.
Anouk Theunissen, director of the "Sudan Witness" project, stated: "We have documented many patterns of fires and the ongoing destruction in the villages and towns of western Sudan, both large and small, since the outbreak of the conflict in April of last year." She added: "When we see reports of fighting or airstrikes coinciding with clusters of fires, this indicates that fires are being used indiscriminately as a weapon of war. This trend is worsening and causes mass displacement of the Sudanese people."
The incidence of fires has particularly increased in North and West Darfur, especially around Al-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which faces a threat of imminent military attack.
