A/HRC/27/69 rights violations in those States, including killings, sexual and gender-based violence, rampaging of villages as well as destruction of property.5 UNAMID reported large-scale attacks by the Rapid Support Force on armed groups and villages in South and North Darfur States in February and March. There were continued reports of aerial bombings by the Sudanese Air Force in the conflict areas and of their consequential adverse impact on the civilian population in those areas. There were reports of civilians killed from such aerial bombings in Draib Al Reih and Um Gunya in South Darfur in February, in Uzban village East of El-Daein in Blue Nile State on 15 March and in Thabit in North Darfur on 28 April. A hospital run by Médecins Sans Frontières in the village of Farandalla in South Kordofan was bombed by the Air Force on 16 June. Such indiscriminate aerial strikes, which are a clear violation of the basic principles of international human rights and humanitarian law, must stop. 62. The trajectory of the armed conflicts has been at three interconnected levels: tribal violence over land and natural resources, attacks by armed movements against government positions and vice versa, and aerial bombardments of areas under rebel control by the Sudanese Air Force. All that led to the destruction of life and property and seriously undermined the security of civilians during the reporting period, particularly in different parts of Darfur and South Kordofan. The upsurge in conflict in the Darfur region generated an estimated 250,000 new civilian IDPs between February and April 2014, which was higher than the total number of IDPs for 2011 and 2012. The total number of IDPs in Darfur was estimated at over 2 million in April 2014.6 63. In Darfur, there were reported rebel attacks on UNAMID peacekeeping forces and carjacking of UNAMID vehicles during the reporting period, as well as robberies and attacks on humanitarian agencies such as the World Food Programme. 64. The Independent Expert emphasized the need for proportionality and respect for humanitarian and human rights principles in the Government’s engagements with rebel forces. He also had discussions with the Chairman of the Darfur Regional Authority on efforts to encourage the non-signatory armed movements to join the peace process. The Independent Expert commends the Authority’s efforts and the instrumental role of the Head of UNAMID in mediating with non-signatory armed movements to broker a solution that will bring lasting peace to Darfur. He also met with the tribal leaders in South Kordofan who emphasized that the use of traditional peace settlement mechanisms and adequate consultation with tribal leaders was an important factor for success in the peace initiatives. The Independent Expert’s efforts to meet with representatives of some of the armed movements during the reporting period were unsuccessful. 65. It is imperative to intensify efforts towards ending the armed conflicts in the Sudan, which are a major cause of human rights violations. The Government’s effort to set up social peace workshops across the five States in Darfur aimed at culminating in a Social Peace Conference in November is commendable in that regard. J. Violence against women and children 66. Although the Unit for Combating Violence against Women and Children as well as the Family and Child Protection Unit of the Sudanese police force are doing very good work, the problem of violence against women and children remains of grave concern, 5 6 16 See Report of the Secretary-General on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (S/2014/279 of 15 April 2014), paras. 7–11. Ibid., para. 14.