New arrivals at refugee camps in south Darfur say they were forced to flee their homes due to government helicopter gunships attacking villages in the south of the region last week.
"We had to leave quickly," says Fatimah, who traveled for two days by truck to arrive at a camp north of Nyala with her two young children, leaving her husband behind. Another 600 people in five trucks arrived at the same time.
"We saw the helicopters then saw them attacking one of the nearby villages. They were firing at the villagers as they ran away," she says. "My husband told me to get the children and leave, so I did. Others in the village stayed but I have not heard anything of what happened to them."
Supporting refugee testimonies, the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) issued a statement that the Sudanese government had carried out bombing attacks in the Marra Mountains last Friday.
Though Khartoum has not confirmed the attacks, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch has previously accused Sudan of carrying out these types of aerial assaults.
The new arrivals are saying the attacks on the villages took place on Thursday and Friday of last week between the southern towns of Buram and Radam.
Since May there has been an escalation in fighting in Darfur with hostilities between rebel groups, the government supporting Janjaweed and the Sudanese armed forces attempting to secure territories before a peace agreement in secured.
There has also been an increase in attacks on aid workers in the region, forcing many organizations to shut down operations. In Gereida in west Darfur, aid agencies were forced to leave for security reasons, evacuating 71 workers—meaning approximately 120,000 displaced people are now receiving only minimal medical aid and food supplies.
One Sudanese aid agency worker in Nyala said the intense fighting had meant a dramatic influx of displaced people entering the camps.
"Over the last couple of months we have been taking in thousands of people but the last few weeks have been exceptional," he said. "We have had to make special efforts to deal with the increased numbers."
"There have been a number of stories of the government attacking villages from the people coming in," he said. "But we are also being told the fighting between rebel groups and the government has meant people are forced to flee for safety."
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