Recent examples of violence UNAMID has been unable or unwilling to prevent or investigate
A supplement to: “Darfur and Human Security: UNAMID’s failure forces the essential and inescapable question,” Sudan Tribune, 1 August 2014 | http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article51869
Eric Reeves, 2 August 2014
The violence that UNAMID so typically refuses to investigate or even record is nonetheless regularly reported by Radio Dabanga (www.RadioDabanga.org). Many accounts that come to me from other sources on the ground in Darfur have confirmed Radio Dabanga dispatches over the past several years; a number of these (necessarily confidential) confirmations are quite recent. In short, we have no reason to doubt the following Radio Dabanga accounts from the past two months—months that are similar to preceding months in demonstrating an extraordinary level of human insecurity. We must accept as representative, if hardly comprehensive, these accounts of violence against women; against farmers attempting to returns to their lands and livelihoods; against those in displaced persons camps, against civilians bombed, who are bombed indiscriminately in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1591 and International Humanitarian Law; against those in villages attacked with ever greater frequency by the reconstituted Janjaweed (the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF), now openly supported by the Khartoum regime; against those traveling on roads that have been left unprotected. Civilians are completely vulnerable and UNAMID is simply no deterrent in the vast majority of cases, nor is it capable of holding accountable those responsible for the violence.
Moreover, given the compelling evidence of UNAMID’s deliberate obscuring of or complicity in grave human right abuses, perhaps the most significant Radio Dabanga dispatch below reports on the statement of Fatou Bensouda (June 18, 2014) | ICC demands investigation of UNAMID in Darfur
NEW YORK / THE HAGUE – The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, requested the UN on Tuesday to investigate allegations that UN intentionally covered up crimes in Darfur. Bensouda presented the UN Security Council (UNSC) with the ICC’s 19th and latest report on the situation in Darfur on Tuesday. In a concomitant statement, she pointed to allegations that UNAMID “had been subject to manipulation, with the intentional effect of covering up crimes committed against civilians and peacekeepers, in particular those committed by the Government of Sudan”…. FULL STORY
Each of the following is in some way part of the manifest and overwhelming failure of UNAMID; and although the dispatches here are culled from only the past two months, a similar selection from previous months would reveal the same patterns of violence.
We must not forget the fundamental truth articulated by Refugees International in assessing UNAMID’s predecessor mission, the “African Union Mission in Sudan” (AMIS), for it remains as true today as it was nine years ago:
Darfur civilians have only the African Union Mission in Sudan to protect them right now; this is a choice that has been made by the entire international community. (Refugees International, “No Power to Protect: The African Union Mission in Sudan,” November 2005 | http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/publication )
[All dispatches are from Radio Dabanga unless otherwise indicated; all emphases in quotations have been added; my interpolated remarks are in italics.
Again, I retain the administrative structure of Darfur that obtained at the time the genocide began in 2003; Khartoum’s subsequent creation of a factitious “East Darfur” and “Central Darfur” was politically expedient, and designed to make historical geographic identification more difficult. Nearly all of what is now referred to as “Central Darfur” was formerly—under the administrative organization that informed the authoritative UN Field Atlases (2005)—West Darfur, notably Zalingei, Mukjar, Wadi Saleh, and Jebel Marra localities. It is doubtful that many within UNAMID understand this geographic history.]
• Scorched earth in South Darfur: Pictures | UM GUNJA (8 Jun.) – On 28 February 2014, Radio Dabanga reported that more than 35 villages burned to ashes, and dozens of civilians were killed in attacks by troops of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – popularly termed Janjaweed – in the area of Hijer (Tunjo), southeast of Nyala, South Darfur. Thousands of villagers found refuge in camps near Nyala. This poignant series of pictures, sent to Radio Dabanga by our own correspondent in Darfur, shows some of the inhabitants of the Village of Um Gunja in the area of Hijer (Tunjo), in the aftermath of the first Janjaweed attacks. Thousands of villagers from the area have now reached Nyala’s camps for the displaced. PHOTOGRAPHS |https://www.radiodabanga.org/node/74572
The meaning of “scorched earth warfare” in Darfur
• Militiamen kill, rape displaced in North Darfur | KORMA/EL FASHER (1 Aug.) – Pro-government militiamen shot dead a displaced man near Korma, North Darfur, on Thursday afternoon. Four others were wounded. The men ordered the camp residents to stop tending… FULL STORY
• Two children killed in bombardment, Darfur’s Jebel Marra | EAST JEBEL MARRA (1 Aug.) – An aircraft of the Sudanese Air Force dropped bombs and killed two children in Dolma, East Jebel Marra, on Friday morning. Residents in the area have fled the bombardments, in… FULL STORY
• Gunmen frighten El Salam, Nierteti camps in Darfur | EL SALAM/NIERTETI (1 Aug.) – An armed group stormed El Salam camp for the displaced people in South Darfur on Wednesday and caused panic amongst the residents. On the same day, militiamen terrorised camp… FULL STORY
• Farmer, herder slain in Darfur | GIREIDA / EL SAREIF BENI HUSSEIN (31 Jul.) – A resident of Gireida camp for the displaced in South Darfur was shot dead on Thursday. In El Sareif Beni Hussein locality, North Darfur, a herder was killed on Tuesday. “On… FULL STORY
• Security situation deteriorating in Sirba, West Darfur | SIRBA LOCALITY (31 Jul.) – The residents of the camps for the displaced in Sirba locality, West Darfur, have not been able to enjoy the Eid El Fitr, as the security situation has deteriorated significantly… FULL STORY
• South Darfur displaced assaulted by soldiers | EL SALAM CAMP (31 Jul.) – Two residents of El Salam camp in South Darfur were assaulted by two soldiers on Monday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga from El Salam camp, Sheikh Mahjoub Adam Tabaldiya reported that… FULL STORY
• North Darfur displaced abducted for SDG5,000 ransom | SARAF UMRA (30 Jul.) – A group of gunmen on Sunday abducted a displaced man at the market of Saraf Umra, North Darfur, and plundered a number of shops. A relative of the abducted told Radio Dabanga that… FULL STORY
• South Darfur man killed for mobile phone credit | GIREIDA LOCALITY (29 Jul.) – A resident of the Gereida camp for the displaced in South Darfur was shot dead and two others wounded on Monday. “Seven militiamen approached the mobile phone credit kiosk of Adam… FULL STORY
• Grenade kills herder in North Darfur¨| KUTUM LOCALITY (28 Jul.) – A young herder was killed by a detonating grenade in Kutum locality in North Darfur on Sunday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga from the village of El Sheikh Janna in Kutum locality, a… FULL STORY
• Father, two sons shot in Abu Karinka, East Darfur | ABU KARINKA (28 Jul.) – Three men were shot in Abu Karinka locality, East Darfur, on Sunday. “An unidentified gunman suddenly opened fire on Abdel Rahman Mohamed Idris and his two sons Musa and Adam…. FULL STORY
• Abbala kill man and injure another in North Darfur | EL SAREIF BENI HUSSEIN (UPDATED) (27 Jul.) – Abbala gunmen killed a man in Kabkabiya, North Darfur, abducted his companion and injured a protection commander on Friday. “Abbala militiamen in a Land Cruiser accosted… FULL STORY
• Murder, abduction, assault, robberies, and release in Darfur | DARFUR (27 Jul.) – Militiamen abducted a resident of El Salam camp for the displaced in South Darfur, and stole six cows on Friday. In El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur State, gunmen attacked… FULL STORY
• Four wounded in militiamen’s attack, South Darfur | KATILA (26 Jul.) – Pro-government militiamen attacked Hashaba in Katila locality, South Darfur, and wounded four displaced people on Friday. A witness said that the 15 militia members attacked… FULL STORY
• Two abducted by RSF in North Darfur | EL FASHER (26 Jul.) – Elements of a Sudanese paramilitary force abducted two shepherds in the area between Shangil Tobaya and Tabit in El Fasher locality, North Darfur, on Friday. Residents in the area… FULL STORY
• Herdsmen pillage, threaten voluntary return towns in Darfur | KABKABIYA/ZALINGEI (26 Jul.) – Armed herdsmen threatened to attack and burn down villages west of Kabkabiya town, North Darfur, on Thursday, if the residents would not pay them a large amount of money. A… FULL STORY
• Gireida, South Darfur, imposes fees for ‘protection’ | GIREIDA (25 Jul.) – The commissioner of Gireida locality, South Darfur, has imposed fees on teachers, internally displaced people, and house owners, under the pretext that he wants to buy weapons,… FULL STORY
• Air force drops bombs, UXO kills one in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra | EL FASHER (25 Jul.) – An Antonov airplane of the Sudanese Air Force dropped several bombs in East Jebel Marra and killed at least three donkeys on Thursday. On Tuesday, a grenade detonated and killed a… FULL STORY
• Hundreds of militia troops enter Central Darfur | ZALINGEI LOCALITY (24 Jul.) – Displaced in Central Darfur are living in fear after the large groups of militia combatants have entered the state. “Large groups of government-backed militia forces in Land… FULL STORY
• Rapid Support Forces assault, rob people in Sudan’s capital | KHARTOUM (23 Jul.) – Elements of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reportedly attacked five young men in Khartoum this week. The independent Sudanese electronic newspaper Hurriyat … FULL STORY
• Displaced shot, robbed in Central and West Darfur | ZALINGEI / SIRBA (23 Jul.) – Gunmen shot two displaced brothers in Central Darfur on Tuesday. In West Darfur, displaced were violently robbed of 125 goats on Sunday and Monday. “Gunmen in military uniform… FULL STORY
• Displaced raped, robbed, beaten in South Darfur | KALMA CAMP (22 Jul.) – Militiamen raped three residents of Kalma camp in the area of Ba’ashum, South Darfur, on Sunday. In the same area, nine others were severely beaten and robbed of their belongings… FULL STORY
• Farmers abducted, livestock released on farmlands in Darfur | ZALINGEI LOCALITY / EAST JEBEL MARRA (22 Jul.) – Militiamen abducted two farmers and seized their tractor in the area of Dankoj in Central Darfur on Friday. The farmers were released on Sunday. The gunmen demand SDG35,000 for… FULL STORY
• Displaced assaulted, robbed in Central and South Darfur | WADI SALIH / KASS (22 Jul.) – A group of former displaced was injured in an armed robbery on three lorries in Wadi Salih locality, Central Darfur, on Sunday. On the same day, a displaced worker was shot in the… FULL STORY
• Three sisters gang raped in Gireida locality, South Darfur | GIREIDA LOCALITY (21 Jul.) – On Monday, three sisters were gang raped by militiamen in Gireida locality, South Darfur. “Eight government-backed militiamen on camelback, wearing military uniforms, at about 8am… FULL STORY
• Gunmen kill two, injure one in Kass, South Darfur | KASS (22 Jul.) – Two residents of Kass, South Darfur, were shot dead, and one was injured by gunmen on Sunday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a resident of El Salam district in Kass said that three… FULL STORY
• Health centre plundered in North Darfur’s Fata Borno camp | FATA BORNO CAMP (21 Jul.) – Gunmen on Friday pillaged the health centre in the Fata Borno camp for the displaced in Kutum locality, North Darfur. On Friday evening, militiamen riding a Land Cruiser and five… FULL STORY
• Attack on vehicles, village kill at least 17 people in Darfur | EL FASHER / MALAM (20 Jul.) – At least 13 people, among them women and children, were shot dead, and others injured in an ambush in North Darfur on Saturday. On Sunday, four herdsmen were killed and… FULL STORY
• Gunmen block farmers from tending their lands in Darfur | DARFUR (20 Jul.) – In North Darfur, militiamen deny farmers access to their farmlands. In Kass locality, South Darfur, gunmen robbed a group of farmers on Friday. In North Darfur, farmers in the… FULL STORY
• Three North Darfur girls raped by militiamen | TAWILA (18 Jul.) – Three girls were raped by militiamen in Atabra area, 15km west of Tawila in North Darfur, on Saturday. Omda Musa Mukhtar Bosh told Radio Dabanga that pro-government militia… FULL STORY
• Militiamen shoot boy, steal UNAMID bus in South Darfur capital | NYALA (UPDATE 15:03) (18 Jul.) – Militia elements shot a 12-year-old boy on a motorcycle dead in Nyala city on Wednesday. Other elements on motorcycles stole a mini-bus belonging to the joint UN-AU Mission in… FULL STORY
• Militia members abduct ‘mainly displaced’ in Darfur | KASS/DARFUR (18 Jul.) – Pro-government militiamen abducted a schoolteacher and stole a large amount of money near Kass town, South Darfur, on Wednesday. A refugee association claimed that the number of… FULL STORY
• ‘Emergency measures’ to curb insecurity in South Darfur | NYALA (16 Jul.) – The Governor of South Darfur State issued a number of “emergency measures” on Tuesday, in an attempt to combat the rampant insecurity in the capital Nyala. Governor Maj. Gen… FULL STORY
• Killing, robberies, hijacks in North Darfur | NORTH DARFUR (16 Jul.) – In North Darfur, two men were killed in two separate attacks on Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday three commercial vehicles were hijacked. Abu Torein was tending his farmland on… FULL STORY
• ‘Starving displaced need protection’: South Darfur camp head | KALMA CAMP (15 Jul.) – More than 70 people have died in less than a month the Kalma camp for the displaced in Nyala locality, South Darfur, owing to the bad humanitarian situation in the camp, and… FULL STORY
• No health care in Central Darfur’s Mukjar | MUKJAR(15 Jul.) – Mukjar locality in Central Darfur lacks any form of basic health care service. Within the past four months, 15 people died of an unknown liver disease. Speaking to Radio Dabanga from Mukjar town, an activist said that the about 90,000 people living in the locality do not have access to any medical care. “There are not even medical assistants anymore; the last one left in March.” The activist reported too that four militiamen on Sunday evening pillaged the shop of Adam Ismail Adam in the eastern part of Mukjar town. “The gunmen first secured the street, before they emptied the entire shop, loaded the goods in their vehicle, and fled.”
• [Sudan Tribune (Khartoum) 13 July 2014] Sudan’s Bashir Defends Rapid Support Forces | The Sudanese president, Omer Hassan al-Bashir, has renewed promise to end rebellion and tribal conflicts in the country by the end of 2014 and denounced criticism directed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from some political forces. Bashir, who received from the speaker of the parliament, Alfatih Izz al-Din, on Sunday the parliament’s response to the letter he tabled at the National Assembly, praised efforts of the Sudanese army and other regular forces in defending the country. He further strongly defended the RSF, saying they defeated rebel groups in several areas in Darfur and South Kordofan. “They [RSF] offered 163 martyrs and several of wounded within five months only to defend the country,” he added.
• ‘More than 2 million displaced in Darfur’: DRA survey | EL FASHER (14 Jul.) – Currently, there are 2,308,992 people displaced in the five states of Darfur. Among them are 82,530 orphans, 3,499 widows, and 52,352 infirm and elderly, according to a survey… FULL STORY
• ‘Militias, banditry source of major concern in Darfur’: UNAMID head | ADDIS ABABA (14 Jul.) – The head of UNAMID, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, said that the spread of militias, criminality and banditry remain a source of major concern in Darfur, despite the recent decrease in… FULL STORY
• Abduction, robberies in North Darfur | KUTUM LOCALITY (13 Jul.) – Gunmen ambushed six commercial vehicles in Kutum locality, North Darfur, on Friday. The day before, gunmen robbed the passengers of a commercial vehicle in the area north of Kutum… FULL STORY
• Antonov bombs areas in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra | EAST JEBEL MARRA (11 Jul.) – The Sudanese Air Force bombed the areas of Khor Mali and Saby in East Jebel Marra on Friday. A resident of the area told Radio Dabanga that an Antonov dropped three bombs on the… FULL STORY
• Armed robbers kill citizen, injure another in Kass, South Darfur | KASS (11 Jul.) – A resident of Kass, South Darfur, was killed near his house on Thursday. The same day, a displaced man was injured by gunmen, and robbed of his mobile phone. Speaking to… FULL STORY
• Military police tortures citizens in Kutum, North Darfur | KUTUM (11 Jul.) – Two citizens were severely beaten and tortured by elements of the military police in Kutum town, North Darfur, on Wednesday. Teacher Hashim Abdel Salam Adam and his… FULL STORY
• Insecurity, lack of aid kill Darfur refugees in CAR’s Bembere camp | [These refugees, like the more than 350,000 Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad, remain where they are because of their fear of extreme violence in Darfur itself—ER] BEMBERE / SAM OUNJA (11 Jul.) – The Darfuri refugees in the Bembere camp in the Central African Republic (CAR) are facing an extremely difficult security situation. The situation in the Sam Ounja camp is “… FULL STORY
• ‘Citizens bear brunt of power struggle in North Darfur’: camp coordinator | SARAF UMRA LOCALITY (10 Jul.) – The humanitarian situation in Saraf Umra locality in North Darfur is “worse than ever before.” Prices are skyrocketing as a result of the conflicts between the state’s government… FULL STORY
• Women raped in South Darfur ‘during fasting time’ | EL SALAM CAMP (10 Jul.) – Three displaced women of El Salam camp in South Darfur were raped by militiamen on Monday morning. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, Sheik Mahjoub Adam Tabaldiya reported from El Salam… FULL STORY
• Traces North Darfur market thieves lead to military base | KUTUM (10 Jul.) – Two shops at the market of Kutum town in North Darfur were ransacked on Tuesday, “The entire stock of clothes in the shop of a man known as Bashir, and all the foodstuffs of… FULL STORY
• Village pillaged near Korma in North Darfur | KORMA (9 Jul.) – A man was killed in an attack by militiamen on the village of Sandeigo, near Korma in North Darfur on Tuesday. “Government-backed militiamen shot Mohamed Ali Handal (41) on… FULL STORY
• Janjaweed raid village in Sirba, West Darfur | SIRBA LOCALITY (9 Jul.) – Two citizens were critically injured in an attack by militiamen on the village of Abu Dinga in Sirba locality, West Darfur, on Monday. On the same day, gunmen ambushed a… FULL STORY
• Cattle spoil crops on Central Darfur farmland | ZALINGEI LOCALITY (9 Jul.) – Cattle released by armed herders on farmland in Zalingei locality, Central Darfur, on Sunday spoiled all the crops. Yousif Yahya Yousif, a farmer living at the Hamidiya camp for… FULL STORY
• Katila Commissioner killed in South Darfur ambush | KATILA LOCALITY (8 Jul.) – The Commissioner of Katila locality in South Darfur was killed in an ambush on Sunday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a witness reported that armed men in six vehicles opened fire at… FULL STORY
• Gunmen steal SDG70,000 from distribution centre in South Darfur | NYALA (8 Jul.) – On Sunday, gunmen stole SDG70,000 in cash from the Mamoun El Bireir distribution centre in Nyala, South Darfur’s capital. “Four militiamen in a Land Cruiser raided the… FULL STORY
• South Darfur student killed for mobile phone | NYALA / EL FASHER (7 Jul.) – On Sunday, a secondary school student was murdered, and a woman injured by elements of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces near the Otash camp for the displaced in South Darfur… FULL STORY
• Citizens killed, injured at Central and South Darfur markets | DELEIG / GIREIDA (7 Jul.) – Two school students were shot at the market of Deleig in Central Darfur on Sunday. On the same day, militiamen raided the Jukhana market, near Gireida town in South Darfur,… FULL STORY
• Five North Darfur women held hostage for ‘stolen cattle’ | EL SAREIF BENI HUSSEIN (7 Jul.) – Five women were taken hostage on Saturday by Abbala tribesmen in El Sareif Beni Hussein locality, North Darfur, after 48 cows went missing. On the same day, two displaced men were… FULL STORY
• Rapid Support Militia rob Central Darfur pilgrims | ZALINGEI (4 Jul.) – Elements of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) robbed seven pilgrims in Central Darfur state on Wednesday. They took a large amount of money and their mobile phones. A witness told… FULL STORY
• Child, camp sheikh remain kidnapped in Central Darfur | NIERTETI (4 Jul.) – Pro-government militiamen abducted a 10-year-old boy in Nierteti locality, Central Darfur, on Monday. Meanwhile, a Central Darfur camp Sheikh has been kidnapped for nearly one and… FULL STORY
• Gunmen kill home-bound South Darfur student | NYALA (4 Jul.) – An 18-year-old student in Nyala city, South Darfur, was shot dead by two persons in military uniform on Wednesday afternoon. Omer Sharafedin, a student at a Nyala secondary school… FULL STORY
• South Darfur displaced attacked, robbed | KASS/SIRBA (3 Jul.) – Militia elements injured five displaced in an attack on three villages west of Kass, South Darfur, on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the displaced in West Darfur’s Abu Suruj camp have to pay… FULL STORY
• New attacks, checkpoints in North Darfur | KUTUM (3 Jul.) – Pro-government militiamen have reportedly killed four students, and plundered a town in North Darfur. The militias have tightened their control on vital roads in the state,… FULL STORY
• CAR forces attack, pillage Sudan refugee camp | BANGUI (3 Jul.) – Bembere camp for Sudanese refugees in the Central African Republic (CAR) was attacked and plundered by opposition forces on Monday. Camp Sheikh Abdel Rahman Ismail told Radio… FULL STORY
• MSF team denied access to South Darfur camp | BRUSSELS (2 Jul.) – The 15,000 displaced in El Sareif camp in South Darfur are living in extremely poor conditions. The most recent 4,500 arrivals to the camp have scarcely enough drinking water to… FULL STORY
• Children starving in Gireida camps, South Darfur | GIREIDA LOCALITY (2 Jul.) – The number of child deaths as a result of diarrhoea, malnutrition, and a lack of health care, is increasing alarmingly in the Gireida camps in South Darfur. “More and more… FULL STORY
• Drought, instability worsen food insecurity in Sudan | WASHINGTON (2 Jul.) – At least five million Sudanese will probably face varied levels of acute food insecurity until September. Expected poor rainfall and another bad main harvest will most likely… FULL STORY
• Goats stolen from West Darfur displaced | MURNEI CAMP (2 Jul.) – On Tuesday, 52 goats belonging to residents of the Murnei camp for the displaced in West Darfur, were stolen. A camp sheikh told Radio Dabanga that on Tuesday morning, five gunmen… FULL STORY
• 25 die, 35 wounded as Ma’aliya-Hamar clash in East Darfur | EAST DARFUR (1 Jul.) – At least 60 people were killed and injured on Monday in renewed clashes between Ma’aliya and Hamar tribesmen in East Darfur over a conflict about farmlands. “The fighting between… FULL STORY
• More malnourished children die in Gireida camps, South Darfur | [The Gereida area camps are among the most insecure in all of Darfur, a reality that UNAMID has proved incapable of changing; in turn, this makes humanitarian relief efforts extremely difficult or impossible for security reasons—ER] GIREIDA LOCALITY (2 Jul.) – The number of children dying as a result of diarrhoea, malnutrition, and a lack of health care, is rapidly increasing in the Gireida camps in South Darfur. “More and more children… FULL STORY
• Murder, shooting, hijack in Darfur | DARFUR (30 Jun.) – On Sunday, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a citizen was shot dead in Wadi Salih locality, Central Darfur. On Monday, three passengers of a commercial vehicle… FULL STORY
• 35 Zaghawa abducted in North Darfur | MELLIT (30 Jun.) – Elements of the paramilitary Border Guards abducted 35 people from the Zaghawa tribe in Mellit, North Darfur, on Sunday, and took them to their site in Kutum on Monday. “Border… FULL STORY
• [Agence France-Presse (Khartoum], 7 July 2014]A staffer from the International Organisation for Migration has been abducted in Sudan’s Darfur, the IOM said on Monday. It is the latest incident of its kind in the region where crime and other violence has surged. “An IOM colleague has been abducted from South Darfur at about 5:30-6:00 pm Sunday,” Maysaa Alghribawy, acting officer in charge of IOM’s Sudan mission, told AFP. She could provide no further details.
The kidnapping follows the disappearance last month of two Sudanese employees of the Irish aid group GOAL. They were taken while travelling on assignment near Kutum town in North Darfur. Also in June, an Indian contractor with Darfur’s UNAMID peacekeeping mission was freed after 94 days in captivity. He was abducted by armed men in El Fasher, the North Darfur capital. In another recent case, a UNAMID peacekeeper spent almost two months in the captivity of an unidentified group until his release in South Darfur in May.
• Militia raids Malwi village in South Darfur | GIREIDA LOCALITY (29 Jun.) – A young man was shot dead, eight people were injured, and 49 others went missing on Sunday, in an attack by militiamen on the village of Malwi in Gireida locality, South Darfur. “… FULL STORY
• Killing, abductions, robbery in Darfur | DARFUR (29 Jun.) – (UPDATED) A merchant was abducted in Kass, South Darfur, on Thursday. On Saturday, a farmer was kidnapped at his farmland near Kass. Passengers of a commercial vehicle in Central… FULL STORY
• One woman killed in armed robbery in South Darfur | GIREIDA (27 Jun.) – One woman was killed and three other people where wounded during an armed robbery on a vehicle driving near Gireida town, South Darfur, on Friday. A witness told Radio Dabanga… FULL STORY
• Gunmen attack, attempt to rape displaced in South Darfur | KASS (27 Jun.) – Gunmen assaulted seven displaced people, including four women, in two separate incidents in Kass locality, South Darfur. The first incident occurred in Amar Jadid area; the second… FULL STORY
• Abbala kill ten Beni Hussein tribesmen in North Darfur | EL SAREIF BENI HUSSEIN (27 Jun.) – Abbala tribesmen killed ten Beni Hussein tribesmen in two separate incidents in North Darfur, on Thursday. Ali Daoud El Beid and a number of members of the Committee of the Social… FULL STORY
• Gunmen storm Bindisi market, Central Darfur | BINDISI (26 Jun.) – Government institutions, schools, and shops closed their doors, and citizens hid inside their homes, when militiamen raided the market of Bindisi in Central Darfur on Thursday. “… FULL STORY
• Two farmers shot in Zalingei locality, Central Darfur | ZALINGEI LOCALITY (26 Jun.) – On Tuesday, two displaced farmers were shot by herders in Zalingei locality, Central Darfur. “Herdsmen released their livestock on farmlands in Wadi Zor, north of Wadi Azum, about… FULL STORY
• Displaced desperate in South and North Darfur camps | DARFUR (25 Jun.) – The humanitarian and security situation in Kass camp in South Darfur, and Zamzam camp in North Darfur is extremely bad. A widow of the Kass camp for the displaced complained to… FULL STORY
• Six villages pillaged in Kolbus locality, West Darfur | KOLBUS LOCALITY (25 Jun.) – In Kolbus locality, West Darfur, militia troops pillaged six villages on Sunday and Monday. One of the victims told Radio Dabanga that elements of a militia who had gathered near… FULL STORY
• Sheikh abducted, people robbed, vehicles ambushed in Darfur | DARFUR (25 Jun.) – Elements of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces abducted a village sheikh and a policeman in Nierteti locality, Central Darfur, on Tuesday. A school student and a citizen were… FULL STORY
• Militia abducts villagers in West Darfur, demands ransom | KOLBUS LOCALITY (24 Jun.) – Five people were abducted in Abu Rumayl village in West Darfur on Sunday. The kidnappers demand a ransom of SDG350,000. “On Sunday, militiamen abducted five citizens in Abu Rumayl… FULL STORY
• Crops damaged by livestock in Central Darfur | ZALINGEI (24 Jun.) – On Wednesday, armed herders released their livestock on farmlands in Wadi Oubar, northeast of Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur. Large areas of crops have been damaged…. FULL STORY
• Hotelier kidnapped in South Darfur capital | NYALA (23 Jun.) – The owner of a small hotel in South Darfur capital, Nyala, was kidnapped on Sunday. The increase of abductions in Darfur lately is due to the weak rule of law and rapid… FULL STORY
• Four lorries hijacked in North Darfur | UM SIDIR (22 Jun.) – Militiamen in uniform ambushed four lorries in North Darfur on Thursday. They robbed the passengers of all their belongings, including large amounts of gold. Mohamed Ahmed Minawi… FULL STORY
• Student abducted in Garsila, Central Darfur | GARSILA (22 Jun.) – A secondary school student was abducted in Garsila, the capital of Wadi Salih locality, in Central Darfur on Sunday. “At about 6am, seven government-backed gunmen in a Land… FULL STORY
• Three killed, two wounded in armed robberies in West Darfur | EL GENEINA (22 Jun.) – Three people were killed and two injured in armed robberies in West Darfur on Saturday. A relative of one of the dead told Radio Dabanga that “government-backed militiamen stormed… FULL STORY
• More than 100 dead and wounded in Central Darfur tribal strife | UM DUKHUN LOCALITY (22 Jun.) – The fighting between Salamat and Misseriya that erupted on Thursday in Um Dukhun locality, Central Darfur, continued on Saturday. More than 100 tribesmen were killed and wounded… FULL STORY
• Gireida, South Darfur: armed robberies, prices soaring and food rations reduced | GIREIDA LOCALITY (22 Jun.) – Seven residents of the Gireida camp for the displaced in South Darfur were wounded in ambushes on Thursday. Prices of food are soaring in Gireida locality, while the World Food… FULL STORY
• NGO, Sudan authorities work to retrieve three abducted staff | KUTUM (20 Jun.) – The international Goal organisation is working with Sudanese authorities to locate the whereabouts of two of their Sudanese aid workers, who remain unaccounted for following their… FULL STORY
• Renewed tribal clashes cause chaos in Central Darfur | MUKJAR/UM DUKHUN (20 Jun.) – Clashes between the Misseriya and Salamat tribes renewed on Thursday and Friday in Salayle and Mukjar areas in Central Darfur. The state’s governor has confirmed nine casualties…. FULL STORY
• Two people die in West Darfur robbery | KEREINIK/NIERTETI (20 Jun.) – Two people were shot dead in in Kereinik locality, West Darfur, in an armed robbery on Wednesday evening. That same day, three student keepers of the Koran in Central Darfur were… FULL STORY
• NGO staff abducted in Kutum, North Darfur | KUTUM LOCALITY (19 Jun.) – Three employees of the international GOAL organisation, and 14 of the Sudanese organisation SAK were abducted in Kutum, North Darfur, on Wednesday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga,… FULL STORY
• More than 20,000 newly displaced in North Darfur in dire need | NORTH DARFUR (19 Jun.) – An estimated 21,300 people who have sought refuge near the UNAMID team site in Korma, North Darfur, are in urgent need of assistance. The people fled their homes following a… FULL STORY
• Darfur activists warn of explosive ordnance in East Jebel Marra | [UNAMID has no access to Jebel Marra—either to confirm these reports or to clear UXO; this has been true for the past three years—ER] EAST JEBEL MARRA (19 Jun.) – Activists in East Jebel Marra have recorded the death of 41 people killed by Sudanese Air Force bombardments since the beginning of the year. 11 others died when unexploded… FULL STORY
• Two killed, five injured in armed robberies in Darfur | DARFUR (19 Jun.) – On Tuesday, two elements of Central Reserve Police were killed, and three others wounded in an attack in West Darfur. In South Darfur, two men were wounded during armed robberies… FULL STORY
• Four dead in shooting in Kabkabiya, North Darfur | KABKABIYA (18 Jun.) – At least four people were killed and nine injured in clashes that broke out between gunmen and citizens in Kabkabiya town, North Darfur, on Wednesday. The clashes erupted against… FULL STORY
• ‘Detainees tortured in Sudan’s capital’: relatives | KHARTOUM (17 Jun.) – The relatives of detained students and activists in Khartoum have accused the security apparatus of exposing the detainees to torture. They called on Mashood Baderin, the UN… FULL STORY
• Three die in clash over stolen goats in East Darfur | ADILA (17 Jun.) – Three people were killed, and three wounded in the area of El Goura, south of Adila in East Darfur. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, an eyewitness reported that citizens formed a local… FULL STORY
• El Salam camp abductees released in South Darfur | EL SALAM CAMP (17 Jun.) – On Sunday, the six displaced of El Salam camp in South Darfur, who were abducted by gunmen more than two weeks ago, have been released. The kidnappers originally demanded a ransom… FULL STORY
• Imam detained in Gireida, South Darfur | GIREIDA (16 Jun.) – An outspoken Imam of the Grand Mosque in Gireida, South Darfur, was detained by security forces this morning. A large number of citizens gathered in front of the security… FULL STORY
• Debris of war kills four children, two women in Darfur | MUKJAR / EAST JEBEL MARRA (16 Jun.) – Four children were killed when a grenade detonated in their home in Mukjar locality, Central Darfur on Saturday. The children found the grenade not far from their house and took… FULL STORY
• Four women gang-raped in North Darfur | TAWILA LOCALITY / LONDON (15 Jun.) – On Saturday four women were raped by militiamen in the area of Konjar in North Darfur. A relative of one of the women told Radio Dabanga the four women, two of them minors, were… FULL STORY
• Health centre pillaged, civilians robbed in Darfur | DARFUR (15 Jun.) – The health centre of Dereig camp for the displaced in Nyala locality, South Darfur, was pillaged on Saturday. In Tawila, North Darfur, militiamen stole property and money from… FULL STORY
• Janjaweed assault, abduct, rob displaced in Darfur | DARFUR (15 Jun.) – Two displaced inhabitants of Kalma camp in Nyala locality in South Darfur were abducted by gunmen in military uniforms in the area of Um Gedeita on Saturday, and taken to an… FULL STORY
• Newly displaced in Darfur in urgent need of shelter | DARFUR (15 Jun.) – Newly displaced in several Darfur camps are suffering from a lack of adequate shelter. “The newly displaced who sought refuge in Kalma and El Salam camps in South Darfur, and… FULL STORY
• Boys lose hands, legs as UXO detonates in North Darfur | TAWILA (15 Jun.) – Three boys were maimed in the area of Jebel Karo, North Darfur, on Friday when a grenade they found detonated. “Murtada Ibrahim Bakhit (16), his brother Abdel Bagi (11), and Abdel… FULL STORY
• Security, militia assault, kill civilians in Darfur | DARFUR (15 Jun.) – On Thursday and Friday, a woman was killed, and several civilians injured in attacks by security forces and militiamen in Darfur. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a listener said that… FULL STORY
• Herders assault and expel South Darfur farmers | KASS (13 Jun.) – Armed herders have subjected farmers in villages near Kass town in South Darfur on Saturday and Sunday to beating, severe whippings, and expulsion from their lands. They… FULL STORY
• Maimed North Darfur boys need medical aid after explosion | DONKI BA’ASHIM (13 Jun.) – A grenade explosion in Kutum locality, North Darfur, maimed two boys, and caused the loss of one eye of one of the brothers on Wednesday. The other brother sustained injuries on… FULL STORY
• Soldiers arrest merchants in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra | DERIBAT (13 Jun.) – Military forces arrested two merchants in Deribat in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra on Thursday, and took them to an army garrison in the area. A relative of the arrested Hamdan Musa… FULL STORY
• UN contractor released in Darfur after 94 days | EL FASHER (13 Jun.) – An abducted Indian man working for the peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), was freed on Thursday in Kabkabiya, North Darfur, after 94 days in captivity. Radio Dabanga… FULL STORY
• Thousands flee attacks in Korma, North Darfur | KORMA (12 Jun.) – On 4 and 5 June militia elements attacked a local market and a village in the area of Korma, El Fasher locality in North Darfur. Residents of villages in the area fled to what now… FULL STORY
• South Darfur woman raped and murdered | KALMA CAMP (11 Jun.) – A woman from Kalma camp near Nyala was raped and then gunned-down by militiamen on Tuesday. The coordinator of the camp, Yaqoub Mohamed Abdallah, told Radio Dabanga that Kaltouma… FULL STORY
• International coalition calls for Sudan to stop targeting civilians | ADDIS ABABA (11 Jun.) – A substantial coalition of civil society groups from Africa and the Middle East on Tuesday addressed an open letter to the African Union Peace and Security Council. It appeals to… FULL STORY
• Central Darfur nutrition centres closed | ZALINGEI (11 Jun.) – The supplementary nutrition centres run by relief organisation Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) in Hamidiya and Hassahissa camps in Zalingei, Central Darfur, were closed on Tuesday. The supplementary nutrition centres run by relief organisation Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) in Hamidiya and Hassahissa camps in Zalingei, Central Darfur, were closed on Tuesday based on the state government’s refusal to renew NCA’s contract.… FULL STORY
• Two die in Central Darfur on Sunday | ZALINGEI/NIERTETI (10 Jun.) – Two men were shot dead in two separate cases in Central Darfur localities on Sunday. Idris Haroun Abdel Salam, aged 22, was killed by unidentified gunmen in his house at El… FULL STORY
• Robbery claims two lives in Nyala, South Darfur | NYALA (10 Jun.) – Two people were killed and two others were injured in an armed robbery at a house in Nyala city, South Darfur, on Sunday. Witnesses in the South Darfur capital recounted that… FULL STORY
• Militia loots South Darfur market, citizens | EL RADOOM LOCALITY (10 Jun.) – Pro-government militiamen robbed the market in Alaiba area, El Radoom locality in South Darfur, on Friday. One of the victims of the looting told Radio Dabanga that the militiamen… FULL STORY
• Six dead, 12 wounded in Central Darfur attacks | ZALINGEI (9 Jun.) – Five people were seriously injured in an attack by pro-government militiamen on Dereig market, west of Zalingei in Central Darfur. Sheikh Matar Younis told Radio Dabanga that a… FULL STORY |
• Four dead, five wounded, 100 missing in North Darfur attacks | TAWILA (9 Jun.) – Four people have died, five wounded, and 100 more unaccounted for following consecutive militia attacks in the area of Kuru, 20km southwest of Tawila in North Darfur. A relative… FULL STORY
• Two farmers wounded in South Darfur attack | GIREDA (8 Jun.) – Two South Darfur displaced farmers have been transferred to Gireida hospital ‘in serious condition’ following a militia attack on Friday. A witness told Radio Dabanga that Yousif… FULL STORY
• Road closure, tolls, squeeze prices in North Darfur | EL FASHER (8 Jun.) – The flow of commercial trucks and passenger buses between Kutum and El Fasher has stalled for the second week owing to the security situation in North Darfur. The halt is a result… FULL STORY
• Militiamen kill 11, pillage villages in North Darfur’s Korma | KORMA/EL FASHER (6 Jun.) – Militia elements killed at least eleven citizens during attacks on rural villages in the area of Korma in El Fasher locality, North Darfur, on Wednesday. They have also wounded… FULL STORY
• Bomb kills three children in Darfur’s Jebel Marra | [Per usual, there was no UNAMID investigation of this bombing attack or any of the others noted in the dispatches above—ER] EAST JEBEL MARRA (6 Jun.) – Three children died in a bomb explosion caused by remnants of war on Thursday in Korofala area in East Jebel Marra, Darfur. A relative of the dead told Radio Dabanga that the… FULL STORY
• Militiamen torture firewood collectors in North Darfur | KUTUM (6 Jun.) – Pro-government militiamen ambushed and injured a number of displaced people from Kassab camp in North Darfur’s Kutum locality, on Wednesday. One of the victims told Radio Dabanga… FULL STORY
• Camel herders beat couple near South Darfur camp | BIELEL (6 Jun.) – Three camel herders tied down and severely beat a married couple in Tebeldina area, south of El Salam camp in South Darfur on Thursday. Mahjoub Adam Tabaldiya, a sheikh of El… FULL STORY
• Displaced still detained ‘to press Central Darfur camp re-planning’ | ZALINGEI (6 Jun.) – Eight wounded, internally displaced people from Ronga Tas camp have been held in detention by security forces in Zalingei locality, North Darfur, since Thursday without charge. … FULL STORY
• 39 rape victims in two months at South Darfur’s Kalma camp | KALMA CAMP (5 Jun.) – A total of 39 displaced women and girls from Kalma camp in South Darfur, were the victims of rape during April and May 2014. Almost all of the rapes occurred while the women were… FULL STORY
• Death threats against outspoken North Darfur Omda | TAWILA LOCALITY (5 Jun.) – Pro-government militias have publicly threatened to kill Omda Musa Moktar of Rwanda camp for the displaced in Tawila locality, North Darfur on Saturday if he does not leave the… FULL STORY
• Life-threatening situation in Mellit – aid agencies in Sudan alarmed | KHARTOUM (5 Jun.) – The health situation of thousands of new arrivals at the UNAMID site at Mellit in North Darfur is life threatening. Today UN agencies embarked on a mission to Mellit to try to… FULL STORY
• North Darfur’s newly displaced denied water | EL FASHER (5 Jun.) – Sudanese government authorities have refused to provide access to water and sanitation for newly displaced people in Zamzam camp near El Fasher, capital of North Darfur…. FULL STORY
• Thousands face starvation in Otash camp, South Darfur | OTASH CAMP (4 Jun.) – Thousands of the displaced inhabitants of Otash camp in Nyala, face a bleak humanitarian and health situation as no food rations have been received. Those affected include the… FULL STORY
• Ambushes, vehicles stolen in Central and South Darfur | DARFUR (3 Jun.) – On Monday, militiamen ambushed a vehicle of the South Darfur State’s Ministry of Health in the area of Digeis in South Darfur. In Um Dafug, South Darfur, the vehicle of a… FULL STORY
• Village pillaged, torched in South Darfur | MERSHING LOCALITY (3 Jun.) – Militiamen attacked the village of Awlad Amin in Mershing locality, South Darfur, on Tuesday. “Government-backed Janjaweed on camels stormed Awlad Amin village in the area of Abu… FULL STORY
• More Ronga Tas displaced detained in Central Darfur | RONGA TAS (3 Jun.) – Sudanese security forces detained three injured Ronga Tas camp residents in Central Darfur’s Zalingei on Sunday. “Three members of the security and some policemen came to the… FULL STORY
• Two North Darfur women held hostage for stolen camels | EL SAREIF BENI HUSSEIN (3 Jun.) – Abbala tribesmen abducted two women in the area of Um Jarwa in El Sareif Beni Hussein locality, North Darfur, on Saturday. A relative of the abductees told Radio Dabanga that… FULL STORY
• Threat to torch South Darfur village, two die in firefight | KASS (2 Jun.) – Militiamen threatened to set the village of Doura in South Darfur on fire on Sunday, if the villagers do not pay compensation for two cows. On the same day, two people were… FULL STORY
•Three North Darfur children maimed by grenade | BA’ASHIM (2 Jun.) – Three boys were maimed when a grenade they found and played with detonated in the area of Ba’ashim in North Darfur on Sunday. Zubeir Suleiman Ibrahim (13), Bush Hamid Sandal (13… FULL STORY
• Vehicles ambushed in West and North Darfur | DARFUR (1 Jun.) – On Sunday gunmen robbed the passengers of two commercial vehicles en route from Saraf Jidad to El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. On Saturday a convoy of four commercial… FULL STORY
• Army troops murder camp sheikh in West Darfur | SIRBA LOCALITY (1 Jun.) – A sheikh of the Abu Suruj camp for the displaced in Sirba locality, West Darfur, was shot dead by elements of the Sudanese army on Saturday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, the… FULL STORY
• Ten abducted in South Darfur | EL SALAM CAMP (1 Jun.) – Ten residents of El Salam camp for the displaced in Beilel locality, near Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, were abducted by militiamen today (Sunday). “Government-backed… FULL STORY