A Very Violent Month in the Darfur Genocide

Eric Reeves | November 23, 2018 | https://wp.me/p45rOG-2jH

For almost 200 months the Darfur genocide has raged, with greater and lesser intensity, but with unrelenting violence targeting the non-Arab/African populations of the region. This violence takes the form of ongoing, brutal rapes of girls and women; violent assaults on farmers attempting to work their lands; the destruction of crops at the height of harvest season by the livestock of nomadic Arab pastoralists, who allow cattle and camels to trample the food that is so desperately needed in the region. Non-Arab/African Darfuri students and political activists are brutalized in both Darfur and Khartoum. Camps for displaced persons are frequently attacked, even as they are now being dismantled by the Khartoum regime, which promises to re-designate them as “residential districts” with “full services.”

In short, the situation remains desperately dangerous and violent even as it receives declining international attention and commitment. The past month—represented by extensive excerpts from reports by Sudan Tribune and Radio Dabanga (below)—has been extremely, which is to say typically, violent.

And yet the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) continues to draw down its forces and give over to Khartoum its former operating bases, which can be easily converted to military outposts for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the brutal militia force responsible for most of the violence, killing, and displacement in Darfur in recent years. The RSF has now been formally incorporated into the Khartoum regime, and acts with complete impunity in Darfur and Sudan more generally. They are not afraid to kill local police who attempt to interfere with their vicious predations and crimes—or even regular Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) military personnel. They are the dominant force in Darfur, and have arrogated to themselves all power in all spheres.

RSF field commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (also known as “Hemeti”) is a man who knows no restraint, and feels free to lash out vengefully against civilians if his forces suffer casualties at the hands of the rebel forces of Abdel Wahid al-Nur (see below). And yet, incredibly, the head of and chief negotiation for UNAMID, Jeremiah Mamabolo, has called for UN sanctions against al-Nur—but not Hemeti and the RSF. However recalcitrant al-Nur has been—and he is the source of much justified diplomatic frustration—he and his forces are not guilty of the deliberate war crimes and crimes against humanity that define the violent tyranny of the RSF and the SAF:

• South Darfur children die in Jebel Marra shelling | Radio Dabanga, November 15, 2018 | DERIBAT

Two children were killed and another was wounded in shelling by government forces stationed in Deribat area in East Jebel Marra, South Darfur. A relative of one of the of the dead children told Radio Dabanga that the government troops stationed in Deribat area fired an explosive projectile on Tuesday evening that fell on a family who were having dinner at a farm east of Deribat. The blast killed five-year-old Salima Ibrahim Yahya and seven-year-old Abdel Karim Yahya Ahmed, and wounded another. The rest of the family were unhurt. He said that as a result of the shelling, a fire broke out on the farm and destroyed agricultural crops over an area of two acres.

Reprisal attack

The situation in the Deribat area has been described as tense. As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, at least five civilians were reported killed by government troops and dozens were injured in an attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on civilians at the weekly Deribat market in East Jebel Marra, South Darfur on Monday.

The motive behind the RSF attack appeared to be a reprisal on civilians after an ambush by the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) on Sunday in the area of Jawa, 10 kilometres south of Deribat, in which 17 government troops were reportedly killed and an RSF vehicle was destroyed.

[See also | “Latest Sudanese Attacks on Darfur Show Protection Needs: Peacekeepers Absent as Abusive Rapid Support Forces Strike Jebel Marra,” Human Rights Watch, October 5, 2018 | https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/10/latest-sudanese-attacks-darfur-show-protection-needs ]

The deliberate killing of innocent civilians in reprisal for attacks by rebel groups is the clearest violation of international law; Mamabolo’s refusal to ask that the UN sanction the RSF and SAF is all too revealing of the cowardly refusal of UNAMID, the UN, and the African Union to confront the Khartoum regime.

The UN humanitarian agencies under the appallingly disingenuous leadership of Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Gwi-Yeop Son have failed to convey the urgency of the current humanitarian situation—including acute shortages of food and medicine—and failed to report the many occasions on which Khartoum obstructs—using a variety of methods—humanitarian access. Indeed, access is no better than in January 2017 when Obama administration U.S. Ambassador of the UN Samantha Power declared, falsely, that there had been a “sea-change of improvement” in humanitarian access in Sudan. Notably, then—as now—there is no humanitarian access to rebel-controlled regions of Blue Nile and South Kordofan. Despite this, UN Coordinator Gwi-Yeop Son has praised Khartoum for merely promising in late September 2018 to grant access to these regions. Such praise virtually assures that Khartoum would not feel pressure to act in a timely way, if at all.

Meanwhile, shocking reports make their way to Radio Dabanga, yet go unreported by the UN. A particularly telling example comes from earlier this month:

• More than 200 people” dead from disease, starvation in South Darfur camp | Radio Dabanga, November 13, 2018 | NYALA, South Darfur

Community leaders in Nyala’s Otash camp for displaced people reported that more than 200 people died because of disease and a lack of food in the past three months. Sheikhs and omdas in Otash camp, South Darfur, conducted a survey which indicated that 284 people, mostly elderly and children, died in the past three months. Results pointed out that causes of death included a deterioration in health and hygiene following the collapse of toilets. One of the sheikhs told Radio Dabanga that also malnutrition and diseases were reported causes of death.

“The majority of the displaced people are currently using the open for toilets because of the collapse and overflowing. […] This has led to the spread of flies and unpleasant smells in the camp.” He appealed to the authorities and organisations to intervene to solve the problem, so as not to lead to the spread of diseases, especially fevers and diarrhoea.

The fighting between government forces and the SLM rebel group under the command of Abdelwahid El Nur in Jebel Marra caused tens of thousands of people to flee their homes starting March this year. More than 111 newly displaced families reached Otash camp in end April, among them children and elderly people.

The acute shortages of food and medicines in Darfur are the product of the general collapse of the Sudanese economy as well as the unacknowledged denial of humanitarian access by Khartoum, targeting in particular international non-governmental organizations, using a range of methods:

• Shortages force price spikes for essentials in Darfur | Radio Dabanga, November 8, 2018 | DARFUR / KHARTOUM

Markets across Darfur have seen a sharp rise in prices of essential goods such as onions and bread. Authorities in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum vow to solve the bread shortage within two days. A protesting employee in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher told Radio Dabanga that his salary of SDG 2,000 ($42) is equal to the price of one sack of onion, while the salary of a newly appointed employee at the ninth grade is SDG 1,000 ($21). Officials of Khartoum state government say that the bread queues of the last few days are expected to end in two days in the capital because of the regular delivery of flour rations to more than 3,000 bakeries in Khartoum.

As reported yesterday by Radio Dabanga, the bread and fuel shortages have continued in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, as well as Sennar, Kassala, New Halfa, Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Wadi Halfa in the Northern state for the third day in a row amid suffering and rise of prices in the Sudanese markets.

Khartoum has claimed that UNAMID will remove its forces entirely from South Darfur by January, thus increasing what are already intolerable risks to humanitarian actors in the most populous part of Darfur.

For its part the Trump administration in the U.S. appears eager to give up the last leverage it has over Khartoum—the regime’s presence on the U.S. State Department’s list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism”:

• Sudan welcomes deal with U.S. over its removal from terror list | Sudan Tribune, November 8, 2018 (KHARTOUM)

Sudan has welcomed on Thursday the agreement reached Tuesday with the U.S. administration over the lift of its names from the list of state sponsors of terrorism with the launch of the “Phase II” framework for the normalization of bilateral relations. The State Department on Wednesday announced that the two countries agreed on a six-point plan that if Sudan implements successfully would lead to “initiate the process of rescinding Sudan’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.”

Khartoum “confirms its readiness and willingness to engage in Phase II,” he concluded. The State Department the agreed six areas “include expanding counterterrorism cooperation, enhancing human rights protections and practices, including freedoms of religion and press, improving humanitarian access, ceasing internal hostilities and creating a more conducive environment for progress in Sudan’s peace process, taking steps to address certain outstanding terrorism-related claims, and adhering to UN Security Council resolutions related to North Korea.” U.S. officials emphasize that the implementation of the internal reforms such as human rights, freedoms, and the unilateral cessation of hostilities are crucial for the removal process.

The absence of any meaningful benchmarks prompted the following declaration from Human Rights Watch:

• “US Considers Lifting Sudan’s “Terror State” Designation: Move Ignores Sudan’s Abuses Against its Own People,” Human Rights Watch, November 7, 2018 | https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/11/07/us-considers-lifting-sudans-terror-state-designation

Nearly two years later [i.e., two years after the Obama administration declared Khartoum to be in compliance with the terms required for “phase one,” thus justifying the lifting of U.S. economic sanctions in October 2017], “phase two” of normalizing US-Sudan relations finally mentions human rights, lumped together with religious freedoms, as one of six areas that Sudan needs to work on to get off the State Sponsor of Terror list, where it’s been since 1993. But it does not say how it will measure progress and still lacks benchmarks. Sudan has long sought removal from the list, which would make it eligible for loans and debt relief. But despite that incentive, without clear benchmarks, it’s hard to see Sudan being held accountable to make real improvements to its appalling rights record.

No wonder the US and Sudan prefer to celebrate their deal in private.

[See also | “US Gift to Sudan: Normalising relations ignores decades of abuse,” Human Rights Watch, November 20, 2018 | https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/11/20/us-gift-sudan ]

Insecurity in Darfur as Camps Are Dismantled Amidst Continued Fighting

The realities of pervasive and severe insecurity remain the defining feature of Darfur for more than 2 million people, either displaced or at risk of attack and/or displacement. The last month of reports from Radio Dabanga makes clear just how extreme violence and insecurity remain, despite accounts to the contrary from UNAMID and the UN:

• South Darfur children die in Jebel Marra shelling | Radio Dabanga, November 15, 2018 | DERIBAT

Two children were killed and another was wounded in shelling by government forces stationed in Deribat area in East Jebel Marra, South Darfur.

[full dispatch above]

[I have placed geographic place names in orange bold to indicate the wide range of violence that continues in Darfur—ER]

The local police in Darfur are far too often outnumbered and out-gunned by the Rapid Support Forces and even marauding Arab militias, often heavily armed despite the supposed “disarmament campaign” trumpeted by the Khartoum regime last year:

• Two policemen die in South Darfur farm violence | Radio Dabanga, November 19, 2018 | GIREIDA / MUKJAR / DERIBAT

Two policemen have died in pursuit of herders after a shooting on the farms of Zuroug village, five kilometres west of Gireida in South Darfur on Saturday. Farmers told Radio Dabanga that the incident occurred after seven armed herders allegedly trespassed with their livestock on the farms. When the farmers tried to drive the livestock off, the herders opened fire on them, wounding farmer Ahmed Goaja. The farmers fled to the police station to report the incident and seek protection.

They explained that two police vehicles and another belonging to the army went to the scene, but the herders opened fire on the police, destroying a police vehicle and killing First Lieutenant Mahjoub Abulgasim and policeman Anwar Feisal. They said that the police force then arrested three of the herders and seized their camels.

An attack by herders on Kombo Kerufta north of Mukjar in Central Darfur caused injuries to at least three farmers on Saturday. Farmers told Radio Dabanga that a group of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) herding camels fired into the air for intimidation and then forcibly trespassed the farms with their camels. They said the farmers tried to get the camels out of their farms, but the herders beat them, injuring Ahmed Ismail, Mohamed Yousef, Adam Nahid, and others.

Deribat, South Darfur (East Jebel Marra)

Commercial truck drivers have refused to enter Deribat area in East Jebel Marra unless the authorities drastically handle Deribat incidents and compensate the victims for the losses they suffered as a result of the plunder carried out by members of the RSF on Deribat market on Sunday.

Twenty-five truckloads of goods are still parked at Kator area, 12 of which come from Nyala and 13 others from El Fasher. The drivers say they are awaiting justice before reaching Deribat market. They have called on the locality investigation committee, headed by the commissioner of east Jebel Marra to reach Deribat, conduct investigations and compensate those affected.

[These supplies are desperately needed in Central Darfur—ER]

One prominent feature of Khartoum’s use of the Rapid Support Forces in Darfur is the frequency with which the RSF conduct “reprisal attacks,” typically without any credible pretext—or simply because of anger and frustration at military losses:

• Rapid Support Forces “reprisal attack” on South Darfur market—civilian killed, beaten, robbed | November 14, 2018 | DERIBAT

At least five civilians were reportedly killed by government troops and dozens were injured in an attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on civilians at the weekly Deribat market in East Jebel Marra, South Darfur on Monday. The motive behind the RSF attack appeared to be a reprisal on civilians after an ambush by the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) on Sunday in the area of Jawa, 10 kilometres south of Deribat, in which 17 government troops were reportedly killed and an RSF vehicle was destroyed. Witnesses from Deribat told Radio Dabanga that the militia, after withdrawing from Jawa, attacked the market and opened fire, killing five people and injuring dozens. Witnesses confirmed that the government militia forces also attacked the market, where they beat shoppers and traders and looted their goods.

Witnesses confirmed that the government forces also shelled south and west of Deribat with heavy weapons, wounding seven civilians. Witnesses described the situation in the area and other parts of East Jebel Marra as tense.

This reprisal attack left many people unaccounted for:

• South Darfur civilians still missing after deadly RSF market attack | Radio Dabanga, November 18, 2018 | DERIBAT

Six people, including two children, are still missing after a “reprisal attack” by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Deribat market in East Jebel Marra last week that left at least five civilians dead. Relatives of the missing told Radio Dabanga that Hamid Mousa (35), Adam Haroun (42) and 28 Aisha Yousef (28) from Talaba village north of Deribat, Osman Hasan (12) and El Sadig (14) from Sony village west of Deribat have not been found since everyone fled Deribat market during the attack. They appealed via Radio Dabanga on the authorities and humanitarian organisations to help them find their family members.

Children killed

As reported by Radio Dabanga last week, two children were killed and another was wounded in shelling by government forces stationed in Deribat area in East Jebel Marra, South Darfur. A relative of one of the of the dead children told Radio Dabanga that the government troops stationed in Deribat area fired an explosive projectile on Tuesday evening that fell on a family who were having dinner at a farm east of Deribat. The b and wounded another. The rest of the family were unhurt.

The commander of the RSF, Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan (also known as Hemeti), has vowed to eliminate the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abdel Wahid Nur in Jebel Marra in three months. The demand came in a statement following Hemeti’s recent visit to Zamzam camp for displaced people in North Darfur. The general coordination of displaced people and refugee camps called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges to include Hemeti on the list of those wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and to bring him to justice.

• RSF militiamen hold Central Darfur villagers hostage | Radio Dabanga, November 21, Radio Dabanga, 2018 | NIERTETI / ZALINGEI

Elements of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia detained 21 civilians, including a minor, on Sunday and are holding them hostage as collateral for allegedly stolen camels. A relative of one of the detainees told Radio Dabanga that paramilitaries of the RSF stationed east of the Kalinga area in Central Darfur attacked a group of people from 11 villages who were riding donkeys to Nierteti for shopping and detained 21 people including a boy aged 14 at gunpoint. He said the militiamen condition freeing them with return of camels that have allegedly been stolen from the militiamen, or alternately paying compensation.

Four displaced people were injured in an attack by gunmen near Abta village, 15 km east of Zalingei in Central Darfur. El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of Central Darfur camps, reported. “Eight gunmen intercepted the way of Izzeldin Abdelkarim, Mohamed Suleiman, Abdelsalam Ibrahim and Ishag Yousef while they were on their way after shopping from Abta village to Kaklo village.”

He said the gunmen threatened the four with the force of arms and then attacked them with sticks and robbed them of their mobile phones and money, He said Abdelkarim was seriously injured with an axe and was transferred to the hospital in Zalingei, while the rest were transferred to the health centre there.

We should make no mistake about RSF determination to continue its violent ways as the current dry season begins, a season that has seen major RSF assaults on Jebel Marra and East Jebel Marra for each of the past five years:

• Sudan’s militia leader vows to crush Jebel Marra rebels in three months | Sudan Tribune, November 5, 2018 (EL-FASHER)

The commander of Sudanese government Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, aka “Hemetti,”: vowed to crush the rebels of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) in Jebel Marra area within three months.

[Such promises of near-term military victory have been a staple of Khartoum’s regular and militia forces for many years—ER]

Hameti said his troops would clear Jebel Marra from the remaining fighters of the SLM-AW within three months to enable civilians to retake possession of their areas and develop its economy. “The next three months will witness the liberation of Jebel Marra from the SLM-AW and it will be transformed into a tourist destination,” he further said adding that the insurgency was “completely crushed and any betting on the rebellion was a losing choice.” He stressed that his forces will clean all the areas of criminal and return the grabbed lands to its owners and to remove any obstacle to the voluntary return.

The spectacular absurdity of Jebel Marra becoming a tourist destination in the near future is of a piece with the notion that Khartoum will commit any resources to returning the lands of the violently displaced by the RSF—ER]

Sexual violence in Darfur remains rampant, as even the most brutal rapes occurs with impunity:

• Seven women, girls raped, beaten in South Darfur ordeal | Radio Dabanga, October 31, 2018 | KASS, South Darfur

Seven women and girls were raped and 12 others were injured, during a two-hour ordeal by armed men in Kombo Aliba north of Kass in South Darfur on Thursday. One of the rape victims told Radio Dabanga that an armed group of herders attacked them at around 11 pm on Thursday, beat them with machetes and rifle butts, before raping seven women and girls, including a 14-year-old. She told Radio Dabanga that the rape and beatings lasted for two hours. The injuries range between a head fracture and fractures in the hands and legs with seven of the women in serious condition.

She added that the militants robbed them of their money and belongings, including cash, mobile phones, foodstuffs, household utensils, blankets and sheets. She said that a UNAMID force stationed in Jumeiza area, accompanied by the Omda of the area, Hashim Mousa, took the rape victims and other injured to Kass to report the incident, and thence taken to Kass hospital, where the medical evidence proved that seven women were raped, including a 14-year-old girl.

Activists, human rights groups and civil society organisations in North Darfur have also condemned the attempted rape by a member of the Rapid Support Forces of a minor on her father’s farm at Muzbad in North Darfur. Journalist and writer Daoud Hari, whose sister Noi Hari was shot dead by a member of the RSF while she was defending her honour last year. He demanded via Radio Dabanga to try the criminal who tried to rape the minor at the farm in Muzbad [North Darfur] and to arrest the criminal who shot Bashir Mukhtar.

The rape of girls continues to be a defining feature of sexual violence in Darfur:

• 17-year-old raped as mother held at gunpoint in North Darfur | Radio Dabanga, November 1, 2018 | SHANGIL TOBAYA

A young woman was gang-raped by three armed men on a farm in Tawila locality, North Darfur on Monday. A relative of the victim told Radio Dabanga that the 17-year-old woman and her mother were tending their farm at Shangil Tobaya when they were accosted by three men who rode-in on camels. The gunmen raped the daughter while holding the mother at gunpoint, threatening to shoot her. The relative said that a complaint has been filed with police. The raped woman was taken to the health centre of Shangil Tobaya for treatment. The perpetrators, who fled the scene, are still at large and no arrests have been made.

As reported by Radio Dabanga this week, seven women and girls were raped and 12 others were injured, during a two-hour ordeal by armed men in Kombo Aliba north of Kass in South Darfur on Thursday. One of the rape victims told Radio Dabanga that an armed group of herders attacked them at around 11 pm on Thursday, beat them with machetes and rifle butts, before raping seven women and girls, including a 14-year-old. She told Radio Dabanga that the rape and beatings lasted for two hours. The injuries range between a head fracture and fractures in the hands and legs with seven of the women in serious condition.

Those who attempt to protect girls and women are shot or beaten with complete impunity:

• North Darfur farmer shot defending women from rape attempt | Radio Dabanga, November 12, 2018 | SHANGIL TOBAYA

Farmer Jamaleldin Saleh Abdallah, known as El Kabeer, was shot while confronting gunmen who tried to rape farmers in Silokandro area west of Shangil Tobaya in North Darfur on Saturday. A witness told Radio Dabanga that five armed men tried to rape several women while they were tilling their farm, but Abdallah confronted them. They shot and wounded him, however the women managed to escape. She said that the gunmen then burned the crops he had collected and left the place, while Jamaleldin was transferred to the hospital in Shangil Tobaya. Farmer Maryam suffered a broken arm in an assault with a machete in her farm at Um Baji area, 15 km south of Tabit on Sunday. She was taken to El Fasher for treatment.

Gender-based violence does not always take the form of rape:

• Women attacked by herders in South Darfur farm conflict | Radio Dabanga, November 20, 2018 | MERSHING

On Sunday, armed herders reportedly attacked a number of women in Mershing locality in South Darfur and caused them injuries. Two of them are in serious condition.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that herders on camels attacked a number of women farmers west of Mershing. The herders allegedly beat and whipped them leaving Kalsoum Abdallah and Aiti Fadul in a serious condition.

But rape is the primary form of sexual violence and the RSF protects its own, creating a climate of impunity:

• North Darfur rape attempt: One dead as RSF fire on angry residents | Radio Dabanga, October 29, 2018 | MUZBAD, North Darfur

A man has died of gunshot wounds in Muzbad in North Darfur on Friday after members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) government militia opened fire on angry civilians following an alleged rape attempt by one of the RSF troops. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that a member of the RSF allegedly attempted to rape a girl on a farm near Muzabad. When residents intervened to assist the girl, the man fled to the RSF area headquarters.

Angry residents stormed the headquarters of the militia to demand that he be arrested and brought to justice. This prompted some RSF members to open fire and Bashir Mukhtar was hit. Witnesses confirmed that the force commander ordered the arrest of the soldier accused of the attempted rape in an attempt to calm the situation. [But it is highly doubtful that the RSF member will ever be tried for his crime: the arrest was merely temporary mollification—ER] Bashir was taken to Muzbad hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds. According to reports that have not been unequivocally confirmed, Osama Mukhtar and Yasir Ali, two companions who took Bashir to hospital, were subsequently arrested from inside the hospital by militia members.

The same dispatch contains more reporting on fatal violence:

• Gunmen shot dead a 16-year-old displaced youth at in the area of Garsila in Wadi Saleh locality of Central Darfur on Saturday. A sheikh told Radio Dabanga from Garsila camp that the killing of the youth occurred at 2 pm in an area between Amar and Darisa in Wadi Saleh locality. He called UNAMID to move and protect the displaced from the attacks.

The violence in South Darfur comes even as UNAMID prepares to leave entirely the most populous state in Darfur:

• Two die in South Darfur shootings | Radio Dabanga, October 22, 2018 | MERSHING

A market trader and a school teacher have died in two separate shootings in Mershing locality in South Darfur on Saturday. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that Abdelhamid Saleh, a trader at El Dumma market, was shot dead after a heated discussion with three men. Saleh died instantly and the perpetrators fled the scene. The incident was reported to police but no arrests have yet been made.

Also in Mershing locality, a teacher has died defending two schoolgirls on their farm. Callers told Radio Dabanga that the teacher at the Jurof secondary school was gunned-down during an attempt to stop men intent on attacking two of his pupils as they tended their farm. The perpetrators fled the scene after the murder.

All regions of Darfur are reporting continuous violence:

• Darfur: Three dead in violent incidents | Radio Dabanga, November 18, 2018 | UM DUKHUN / FANGA

Three people have been shot dead and one wounded in separate incidents in Central and South Darfur. A policeman opened fire and shot nurse Abubaker Adam dead and wounded his wife in his house in Um Dukhun in Central Darfur on Thursday. Also in Um Dukhun, unknown gunmen shot and killed Jeddo Abdelrahim and robbed him of SDG 115,000 ($2,400*). Herders shot dead Ismail Ali Haroun and robbed him of his money and donkey at Dolo area north of Fanga in Tawila locality in North Darfur.

At 6 am on Friday, a number of herders attacked Mukjar [Central Darfur] police station to free a herder from jail and their livestock from seizure, where they exchanged fire with the police, who confronted and arrested two of them, while the rest managed to flee.

[Brazen attacks on police stations and personnel are becoming increasingly violent and frequent—ER]

• Gunmen kill West Darfur policeman, farms damaged | Radio Dabanga, October 30, 2018 | FORO BARANGA

Gunmen killed a policeman in Foro Baranga in West Darfur on Sunday. In a separate event, farmers in the area have complained about problems with herders who trespass their farms.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that a group of gunmen stormed the police station in Darmuga in Foro Baranga locality on Sunday night. They shot policeman Mohamed Hussein and killed him on the spot. The attackers, reportedly armed herders, stole the weapons and ammunition in the police station and fled. The incident resembles the raid of a police station in Tabit, North Darfur, this month. Armed herders stormed the station to release the livestock that was seized after being driven onto farms in the area and causing extensive damage. The farmers of Rasel Fil village in Foro Baranga locality have complained about being beaten by herders who forcibly trespass their farms with their cattle and camels. “The herders’ livestock have destroyed large areas of our crops, estimated at thousands of Pounds,” one of the farmers told this station.

• Sheikh (60) among dead in South Darfur livestock raid | Radio Dabanga, October 29, 2018 | EAST JEBEL MARRA

Two people were shot dead and two others were wounded in an attack by militiamen riding camels and horses at Dandi area near Rakuna in East Jebel Marra locality in South Darfur on Friday morning. Intervention by combatants of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) netted five suspects. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the gunmen men attacked at 5 am on Sunday with the intention to steal livestock. They said the attack resulted in the death of Sheikh Abakar Wawa (60) and Abdelshafi Ismail (27). Abdo Keen (40), and Foka Abakar (25) were wounded. Callers said that the militia attack on the civilians prompted the intervention of SLM forces stationed nearby who reportedly killed or captured at least five of the attackers. The remaining gunmen fled toward Jabra near El Malam.

• Road robbery in Central Darfur leaves three dead | Radio Dabanga, October 21, 2018 | TURR / FALOUHA

Three people were killed and two were injured in a road robbery in Central Darfur on Thursday. On Friday, a woman farmer was shot in East Jebel Marra. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a witness reported that a group of gunmen opened fire on a commercial vehicle near Khor Talba, south of Turr. Three passengers were killed instantly. Two others were seriously wounded.

The gunmen the robbed the drivers and passengers of their belongings, and fled. On Friday, farmer Hawaya Ibrahim sustained severe bullet wounds in the area of Falouha in East Jebel Marra. A relative of the victim reported that two herders tried to steal the sorghum she harvested. When she protested, one of them shot her.

• At least two deaths, seven injured in violent incidents across Sudan | Radio Dabanga, November 4, 2018 | EL GEDAREF / OMDURMAN / TAWILA

Several reports of fatalities and injuries in violent incidents reached Radio Dabanga from across Sudan on Friday. A tea seller was shot dead and six other members of the public were wounded when a member of the regular Sudanese Army opened fire—apparently randomly—at El Faw market in El Gedaref state. The reason for the gunfire is as yet unclear. Police are investigating.

On Friday, a herder opened fire on Mahjoub Suleiman and seriously wounded him at Falluja area south of Dubo El Omda in Tawila locality, North Darfur. The herder then allegedly robbed Suleiman of his money and made-off with his donkey. The incident was reported to Tawila police but no arrests have been made.

• Farmers attacked in North Darfur’s Tawila | Radio Dabanga, October 23, 2018 | TAWILA

A number of farmers were injured in an attack by herders in Tawila locality in North Darfur on Monday. The farmers told Radio Dabanga that herders trespassed their farms with their livestock at Hashaba area, south of Tawila. When the farmers confronted them the herders beat them, causing various injuries. Four farmers were injured, including Maryam Yousef, Hawa Yahya, Shadiya Haroun and Maryam Saleh. Some of them sustained serious injuries. They pointed out that the herds of camels and other cattle caused significant losses to the fields of sorghum, sesame, watermelon and groundnuts.

In September, a farmer was killed and another abducted after they confronted armed herders grazing livestock on their farms at Um Baji in Tawila. Farmers in North Darfur’s Dar El Salam locality also came under attack of herders. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the herders trespassed with their camels and cows, resulting in a confrontation where the herders opened fire on the farmers.

This also led to the destruction of large areas of millet, sorghum, sesame, groundnuts, watermelon and okra estimated at thousands of Sudanese Pounds.

Reporting the predations of the RSF can easily lead to violent reprisals and arrests:

• North Darfur villagers detained after complaint about herders | Radio Dabanga, November 7, 2018 | TONO VILLAGE, North Darfur

Members of the Sudanese government paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) detained two North Darfur villagers from their homes on Monday, allegedly after they complained of herders driving livestock onto their lands. A member of the family of the detainees told Radio Dabanga that an RSF force in four vehicles entered Tono village, 20 kilometres west of Zamzam camp in North Darfur. They raided the homes of Haroun Haggar and Jumaa Hijeir, arrested them and then moved them to the state capital of El Fasher. He said the arrest came after both Haggar and Heijer filed complaints to the governor of North Darfur Sharif Samouh, and the commander of the RSF, Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan (also known as Hemeti), during their visit to Zamzam camp on Monday, where the detainees explained to the governor and Hemeti the extent of violations and trespass by herders on their farms and on the farmers’ land.

Political repression and violence against non-Arab/African Darfuris is also on the rise, both in Darfur and in Khartoum:

• 21 Darfur displaced now detained for four months without trial | Radio Dabanga, November 18, 2018 | KABKABIYA

21 residents of Sortony camp for the displaced in Kabkabiya, North Darfur, who were detained four months ago, are still being held. El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of Central Darfur camps, told Radio Dabanga that on August 12, a joint force of Rapid Support Force (RSF) militiamen and a breakaway rebel group led by El Sadig Fakka detained 21 displaced people and moved them to the notorious Shala prison in El Fasher. The detainees include three teachers and five secondary school students, who have not been charged or brought to trial so far. The detainees are accused of being affiliated with the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW).

• Sudanese police assault detained Darfur student’s lawyer after court postpones trial | Radio Dabanga, November 15, 2018 | KHARTOUM

The Sudanese Congress Party said that yesterday, a policemen assaulted the lawyer representing detained student Asim Omar after an appearance in the Khartoum Criminal Court North. Omar’s trial was postponed until 8 December owing to an emergency that hit the head of the defence, Mohamed Hafiz. After the hearing, police reportedly clashed with Omar’s brothers and held them within the court. In a statement, the party condemned the actions of police personnel and “the aggressive air that the security services imposed on Omar’s trial.” It has praised the great solidarity with Asim’s trial and called for a new gathering on 8 December.

Omar, a member of the Independent Student Congress Party (affiliated to the opposition Sudanese Congress Party, SCP), has allegedly been tortured in prison several times since he was detained in early May 2016.

The student was detained after clashes had erupted between students at the University of Khartoum the previous month. Riot police intervened. During the chaos that followed, a policeman was killed.

After having been held incommunicado for months and reportedly ill-treated, Omar was charged with murdering a policeman. He was found guilty and sentenced to death in August 2017. The ruling prompted hundreds of fellow students and SCP members to demonstrate near the court against the “unfair trial.” In December, the Court of Appeal in Khartoum upheld the death sentence. In January, the student started a hunger strike in the Kober prison in Khartoum to protest the prison administration’s decision to continuously shackle him.

Even in other regions of Sudan, non-Arab/African Darfuris are relentlessly targeted by the security services:

• More students beaten, arrested at solidarity speech | Radio Dabanga, October 26, 2018 | EL GEZIRA

Members of the security apparatus beat and arrested a number of Darfuri students who participated in a gathering of students at El Nilein University in Khartoum on Thursday.

Students who witnessed the raid told Radio Dabanga that a team of the Sudanese security service (NISS) and students who support the ruling National Congress Party stormed the gathering of students at El Nilein University. They [the Darfuri students] were expressing solidarity with the students of El Gezira University, several of whom are still being held. The attackers used tear gas against the crowd and beat students with crutches and plastic wires, a witness reported. Dozens of students have reportedly been detained and their number has not been counted yet.

Last week Radio Dabanga reported that 25 students were still in detention. The remaining 159 students have been released with the payment of the normal bail, but they are to be subjected to re-interrogation and a trial.