EU condemns escalation of violence in Sudan, warns of 'another genocide'

The European Union (EU) has condemned an escalation of violence in Sudan's Darfur region, warning of the danger of "another genocide" after the conflict there between 2003-2008 killed some 300,000 people and displaced more than 2 million.

The EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell cited in a statement on Sunday witness reports that more than 1,000 members of the Masalit community were killed in Ardamta, West Darfur, in just over two days earlier this week during attacks by paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and affiliated militias.

"These latest atrocities are seemingly part of a wider ethnic cleansing campaign conducted by the RSF with the aim to eradicate the non-Arab Masalit community from West Darfur, and comes on top of the first wave of large violence in June," Borrell said.

"The international community cannot turn a blind eye on what is happening in Darfur and allow another genocide to happen in this region."

A war since April between Sudan's army and RSF paramilitary has destabilised the western region and reignited long-simmering feuds there.

Reuters has reported that between April and June this year, the RSF and allied Arab militias conducted weeks of systematic attacks targeting the Masalit, El Geneina's majority tribe, as war flared with Sudan's army.

The RSF said last week it had taken control of the army headquarters in West Darfur's capital of El Geneina.

In public comments, Arab tribal leaders have denied engaging in ethnic cleansing in El Geneina, and the RSF has previously said it was not involved in what it called tribal conflict.