United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has voiced deep concern over the recent uptick in violence in Sudan’s Darfur region, calling for an immediate halt to hostilities.

In a news release issued on Tuesday, Pillay said there has been a disproportionate use of force by armed groups in areas in South Darfur that are not military targets.

“There must be an immediate halt to attacks on unarmed civilians”, she stated.

“I urge the authorities to protect civilians and hold to account those who have committed grave breaches of human rights and humanitarian laws,” the senior UN official pointed out.

Pillay also noted that the attacks have been augmenting the number of internally displaced people.

“Their arrival is having an overwhelming impact on the already limited water, food and health care available in the camps. The increase in displacement is a worrying trend at a time when civilians were being encouraged to return to their villages of origin,” she stated.

Darfur has been the scene of violence since 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum. There has also been tribal fighting in the region.

The United Nations estimates that more than 300,000 people have died in Darfur since the violence began.

Sudan accuses South Sudan, which seceded from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011, of supporting anti-government rebels operating in the Darfur region and the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.