West Darfur/eastern Chad

 

West Dafur: El Geneina residents drive-off displaced man’s murderers

January 2 – 2017 EL GENEINA

A resident of Kendebe camp for the displaced in Sirba locality, West Darfur was shot dead in an attempted robbery near the state capital of El Geneina on Saturday.

the Gunmen shot dead Siddig Fadul, the IDP of camp Kendebe of Sirba locality in West Darfur at El Riyadh district of El Geneina on Saturday.

The coordinator of Sirba camps told Radio Dabanga that two masked men riding a motorcycle opened fire on Siddig Fadul on Saturday while he was riding his motorcycle on the main road at El Riyadh district. Fadul was killed outright.

The coordinator said that the gunmen then tried to steal the dead man’s motorcycle but the residents of the district went out to the street and forced the perpetrators to escape into the city of El Geneina.

 

Sudan Tribune

Seven people killed in cattle-rustling violence in W. Darfur

January 5, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – Seven people were Killed and 11 others wounded on Thursday in an exchange of fire between gunmen in the capital of West Darfur State, El Geneina, over stolen livestock.

Eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune that the owners of livestock traced their stolen animals and reached a house in Aljebel neighbourhood in El-Geneina, but the owner of the house rejected their claim and launched hand-grenades into the undesirable visitors. In statement to the press after the incident, the State Governor Fadl al-Mula al-Haga, confirmed that the rustling of livestock was behind the death of seven people.

He added that the police had arrested one of the livestock rustlers but the owners of the stolen pets continued to trace their animals until they reached Aljebel neighbourhood. Al-Haga said the owner of the house is known from the police service and has criminal records, adding he launched a number of hand grenades, killing several people and injuring others, following what the livestock owners opened fire and killed some others. He said that the security authorities are in control of the situation and life returned to normal in the city, pointing out that the events were limited to Aljebel neighbourhood, as the situation remained normal in the other parts of the city.

 

Seven killed in West Darfur attack

January 6 – 2017 EL GENEINA

A gunfight between gunmen and police and security forces resulted in the death of seven people in the locality of El Geneina early Thursday morning.

The incident occurred at the Jebel district near El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, as fire was exchanged between two armed groups. Mohamed Ibrahim, Abdelrahman Yagoub, Abdulrahman Khamis Ishag Abdelrahman, a person named Abdelbasit, and Adam Suleiman Yagoub were killed on the spot. Prominent field commander Malik Abdelrahman Khamis of the Rapid Support Forces, who joined the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur in 2011, was also killed in the shooting.

Four of the attackers are among the casualties, a source reported to Radio Dabanga. Seven people were wounded, including Dr. Zakaria, Yahya Ishag, Mohamed Ibrahim, El Sadig Ali Abdallah, Abdelrahman Mohamed, and Adam Suleiman. Policeman El Tahir Mohamed Suleiman died of his wounds later on Thursday.

Tension sparked after the incident and the market in Jebel was closed, as well as institutional buildings and several schools. A resident reported that many people stayed in their homes.

Livestock theft

He said that the fight followed a cattle theft by gunmen. A team of armed cattle owners and others traced their tracks to Jebel, south-west of El Geneina. The team wanted to inspect some of the houses, which residents refused, and the two sides clashed. Heavy weapons were used, according to a source.

The clash occurred one kilometre from the building of the secretariat of the state government, the resident said. Currently crowds of people and families of the victims are leaving the city, he reported.

‘The incident comes as a live proof of the spreading of weapons in West Darfur.’ – State Governor

The casualty number has been confirmed by the Governor of West Darfur, Fadlelmawla El Haja. He said that security forces were present during the incident but the use of hand bombs left dead and wounded.

He described the situation as “calm and under control”. “The incident occurred at only one or two houses.”

El Haja pointed to the spread of arms in most districts and villages of the state, despite measures that prevent the holding of arms in markets. “The incident comes as a live proof of the spread of weapons in West Darfur.”

 

Five wounded in West Darfur market attack

January 23 – 2017 ARARA

Five people were injured in a clash in the area of Arara in West Darfur’s Beida locality on Sunday. A number of orchards in the area burned to the ground.

“The reason for the clash between an army soldier and a nomad remains unclear,” a listener told Radio Dabanga from Arara.

“Yet, quite quickly after they began quarrelling at the market of Arara, large groups of nomads stormed the place and began attacking the people present,” he reported. “Five people were wounded.

“The nomads left, igniting orchards in the neighbourhood. The fire destroyed 15 entire gardens,” he added.

 

Two female teachers raped in West Darfur

February 2017 (EL-GENEINA) – Sudanese authorities Wednesday condemned a rape of two female teachers by unidentified armed men outside El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state. The raped teachers had been abudcted by gunmen wearing of kadamool (a turban which covers the face) at one o’clock in the morning on Wednesday from their residence in Addar area, 15 km north of El-Geneina. The abductors took them to an unidentified place where they raped them and brought them back to their house, the state authorities said.

In press statements in El Geneina, West Darfur State Education Minister Fardos Hassan Saleh condemned the sexual assault describing it is as a “disgraceful” conduct, and called on the state police to do the needful to arrest the criminals and bring them to justice.

She said the two teachers were transported to the hospital and underwent medical examination that confirmed the rape. Darfur crimes special prosecutor last January confirmed that over hundred rape cases were reported in Darfur during the year 2016.

 

Two West Darfur teachers raped at gunpoint

February 2 – 2017 EL GENEINA

Two men have been arrested after a group of armed herders entered a school in West Darfur and repeatedly raped two teachers.

Journalist Alaeldin Babikir told Radio Dabanga that at 12 pm on Tuesday, three young herders allegedly stormed the hostel of El Addar School, about ten kilometres north of the West Darfur capital El Geneina.

The gunmen seized two of the teachers, dragged them to a piece of open ground, and repeatedly raped them.

Babikir reports that the attack was reported to El Geneina police, after which a team of local residents and police went in search of the perpetrators. Two suspects were arrested at one of the settlements northeast of El Addar, while a third suspect fled.

He said that there is a strong feeling of outrage among residents of El Geneina, who strongly condemn and denounce the incident, and demanded tough penalties for the offenders.

100 complaints

As reported earlier this week by Radio Dabanga, the Public Prosecutor for Darfur says that a total of 100 complaints of rape of women and children in the region were filed last year, of which 15 have gone to trial.

Counsellor Mohamed Tayfour also announced that two soldiers charged with rape of children in Darfur have been sentenced to death by hanging.

Counsellor Tayfur said that of the 100 complaints of rape of women and children in Darfur over the past year, 11 have been adjudicated according to the Child Rights Act.

 

Two displaced injured in West Darfur robbery

February 13 – 2017 EL GENEINA

Two residents of Kerending camp in El Geneina locality in West Darfur were seriously injured in an armed robbery on Saturday.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, the brother of one of the victims reported that his brother Ishag Newton and his colleague El Tijani Ibrahim were attacked near the camp.

“They are both working at a battery loading shop at El Geneina Market. They were returning to the camp on Saturday evening when two gunmen blocked their way,” he said.

“They fired three shots at my brother’s legs and stabbed his colleague with a knife, after which they took their laptops and mobile telephones, and fled to an unknown destination.”

The victims were taken to the hospital, after reporting the incident to the police in El Geneina.

 

(Report also in South Darfur)

Darfur camp residents complain of attacks, poor services

February 19 – 2017 MURNEI / MERSHING

Residents of West and South Darfur camps for the displaced are suffering from rampant insecurity and deteriorating services. They are calling for protection from Unamid, as the police is reportedly not able to combat the attacks by the militiamen in the areas.

“Militiamen living in districts neighbouring the camps in Murnei assault any displaced person who goes out to collect straw or firewood,” the coordinator of the Murnei camps in West Darfur told Radio Dabanga.

“In addition, they drive their camels and cattle into our farms, and stop us from driving them off by force of arms.”

The coordinator of the three Mershing camps for the displaced in South Darfur reported that the area is increasingly witnessing beatings and robberies by militiamen of displaced straw and firewood collectors.

“The authorities cannot apply the law on these militiamen who publicly challenge the police,” he said. “Only Unamid may be able to provide protection to the displaced.”

Health care

The Mershing camp coordinator further told this station that there are only two health centres in Mershing locality. “They are administered by assistant doctors who are lacking knowledge and experience.

“The authorities cannot apply the law on these militiamen who publicly challenge the police. Only Unamid may be able to provide protection to the displaced.”

“Moreover there exists a severe shortage of medicines. If there are, they are unaffordable. Most of the displaced people do not have a health insurance because of the high fees. The annual fees exceed SDG 400 ($ 61).

About 90 percent of the people living in West Darfur’s Murnei camp have no health insurance.

“If a person is ill, he has to pay SDG 10 ($ 1.53) to see a doctor at the Murnei Hospital, ”the camp coordinator said. “In case the doctors prescribes medicines, they cannot afford the soaring market prices, also because they lack sources of income.”

Schooling

The Murnei camp coordinator as well pointed to a lack of schools. “There are five basic schools and one secondary school in the camps that host about 40,000 displaced people together.

“Apart from overcrowded classrooms, the students suffer from a severe shortage of teachers, seats and desks, and school books,” he reported.

Many children in Murnei camp are out of school as well. “They cannot afford to pay tuition fees,” the coordinator explained. “The schools themselves lack almost everything. Most of the teachers are volunteers.”

 

School headmaster, camp official arrested in West Darfur

February 21 – 2017 SIRBA

The headmaster of a secondary school in Sirba, West Darfur, has been arrested for unknown reasons, along with a camp official.

Members of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrested Nimeri Wedkika, the headmaster of Sirba secondary school, and Dr Yahya Dablan El Tayed of Kendebe camp for displaced people, respectively on Thursday and Saturday.

A Sirba camp coordinator told Radio Dabanga that Dablan was detained by NISS officers from the camp’s health centre.

In addition headmaster Nimeri was detained from his house by the NISS without giving any reasons. He was still kept in custody in Sirba at the time of reporting on Monday.

The coordinator told this station that the family members of Dablan and Nimeri went to the NISS headquarters, where officers refused them to pay a visit to the detainees.

 

(Report also in North Darfur)

West Darfur students robbed, beaten

February 28 – 2017 SIRBA / KASSAB

Students in Sirba locality in West Darfur were injured after being severely beaten by militants on Sunday.

The coordinator of Sirba’s camps for displaced people informed Radio Dabanga that militiamen, riding camels, attacked a group of students who study at the Soni Institute for Holy Qur’an. The group was on its way from Tendelti to Soni.

“The attackers severely beat them with whips and rifle butts which caused them varying injuries,” according to the coordinator. The students were robbed of a total of SDG7,683 ($1,180) and three horses.

North Darfur

Gunmen attacked a displaced man in Kassab camp on Sunday evening. A listener reported to this station that Abdallah Ismail was robbed of his money and ten goats. The perpetrators robbed a number of camp residents who were nearby at the time of the incident of their mobile phones, and fled.

 

Detentions in Darfur for unknown reasons

March 3 – 2017 SIRBA / FANGA

The detention by the Sudanese security service of two men in Sirba locality, West Darfur, has continued for seven days for unknown reasons. In Fanga, two men were apprehended during a police search.

A local camps coordinator told Radio Dabanga that the arrest of Abdallah Mohamed Yahya and Adam Ibrahim Mohamed came on 26 February. The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) agents took them from the town of Sirba to prison, without giving reasons for the arrest.

“The police blocked their families ones from visiting them, which constitutes a violation of their rights,” the coordinator said. He demanded the reasons for their arrest to become known or their immediate release.

Arrests

Military intelligence members arrested two men in Rofota, 12 kilometers west of Fanga, in eastern Jebel Marra on Friday, and took them to the Rofota military garrison.

A relative of the detained men told this station that the intelligence agents, stationed in Rofota, stopped a group of seven people, including five women, on their way to Vanaga after shopping. They searched all goods their donkeys were carrying.

Both Abdelrazek Yousif Hamid (35 years), and Tahir Mohamed Ibrahim (50) were arrested and taken to the military garrison.

The relative said he is concerned about them being subjected to ill-treatment.

 

Only prison in West Darfur ‘inhumane, might collapse’

March 24 – 2017 ARDAMATA

The only prison in West Darfur is deemed ‘not suitable’ for prisoners, a delegation from a Sudanese parliamentary human rights committee found this week.

The delegates from the Parliament’s Legislation, Justice and Human Rights Committee described Ardamata prison, the only prison in the state, as “not suitable for the imprisonment of a rat; let alone a human being”, during a visit.

The building has two prison cells sized four square meters, holding between 62 to 69 inmates. They are held in a single room and many resort to standing rather than sitting down.

“What is worst is that the smell of the bathrooms spreads to the two rooms,” the committee said in a press statement after the visit.

Ja’far Abbas, speaker of the State Legislative Council, said the prison’s condition ‘does not meet the standards of humanity’. “Killers, thieves, drug convicts and those sentenced to death are living in one ward together.”

Ardamata Prison director Col. Muatasim Hassan Khairallah explained that the building might collapse at any time. “It has not been rehabilitated since its construction in the colonial era, in 1952. The maximum capacity is 140 inmates only. Meanwhile there are now 314 inmates.”

Of this number, 34 have been transferred to a prison in Khartoum. The administration of a prison in Nyala, South Darfur, also decided to transfer inmates to Khartoum and Port Sudan facilities, owing to overcrowded cells and insecurity.

This month Nyala prison received dozens of prisoners from Ed Daein city prison, where a deadly clash erupted between prisoners and police over the transfer of prisoners to other cities.

 

(Report also in North and South Darfur)

Darfur: Merchant abducted, road robberies

March 24 – 2017 EL FASHER / NYALA / SIRBA 

Gunmen abducted a man in southern El Fasher on Thursday night. The same day a man and three women were wounded in separate robberies in South and West Darfur.

Merchant Ibrahim Abdallah Osman was kidnapped from in front of his house in El Gadi district in southern El Fasher city, and taken to an unknown destination, a relative told Radio Dabanga.

At 9pm armed men arrived at his house in a Land Cruiser and took Ibrahim at gunpoint. His family has informed the police about the incident. Abdallah Osman is the owner of a grocery store in the grand market of El Fasher.

Robbery

A man and three women were seriously injured in two separate armed road robberies in South and West Darfur on Thursday.

The first incident involved a commercial vehicle driving from Kuru Kuru in El Salam locality to Nyala city. A witness in the area said that armed camel herders opened fire on the vehicle.

Three passengers, all women, were injured. The attackers stole their mobile phones, money and property.

In West Darfur, militiamen attacked a vehicle carrying gold miners from the Libyan-Sudanese border. Their vehicle came under fire in Regil Mur, east of Sirba, and the tires were shot.

One of the miners, Hasim Mohamed Omar, sustained injuries. The militiamen took off with the passengers’ mobile phones, gold detectors and money.

 

(Report also in North Darfur)

Darfur: Merchant killed, another freed from kidnappers

March 28 – 2017 FORO BARANGA / EL FASHER

A merchant travelling to Chad was killed by gunmen west of Foro Baranga on Sunday. Yesterday a store owner who was kidnapped by militiamen from El Fasher returned home.

Merchant Mohamed Adam Ibrahim was shot on his motorcycle by gunmen in Anjokti, west of Foro Baranga in West Darfur. Ibrahim was on his way to Um Dresa in Chad in the afternoon.

One of his relatives told Radio Dabanga that the attackers stripped his dead body of the gold detector and money he carried, and stole his motorcycle.

In North Darfur, merchant Ibrahim Abdallah Osman returned to his house in El Gadi district of El Fasher on Monday. He had been abducted by gunmen since last Thursday.

The grocery store owner arrived without his vehicle, in which he was abducted. It is not yet clear whether his release came after the payment of ransom or not, a resident in the area reported.

Cattle theft

About 150 sheep and goats were stolen at gunpoint in Disa, north of Kutum in North Darfur, over the weekend, a listener reported.

Witnesses said that armed men, driving a Land Cruiser, assaulted herder Abdallah Saleh who was taking livestock to graze at Disa. The perpetrators seized the animals and headed to Amo, southeast of Disa.

 

Girl, pregnant woman raped in West Darfur

March 28 – 2017 SIRBA

Armed men raped a 17-year-old girl and a pregnant woman in Demet in Sirba locality on Sunday.

Four militants, riding camels, attacked the two firewood collectors out in the open field. They held them for seven hours, a coordinator of the Sirba camp for displaced people reported to this station. The woman is four months pregnant, he added.

The girl and the woman were taken by ambulance from the scene of the incident to Sirba hospital on Sunday. Both were transferred to El Geneina hospital on Monday.

Their families filed a report of the incident with the police of Sirba and detective Terab Abdelaziz Dicko is expected to look into it, the coordinator said.

In February, protests erupted in El Geneina following the kidnapping of two teachers from the school’s hostel in Adar and raping them during daytime. People called on the authorities to arrest the remaining perpetrators and bring them to trial.

 

West Darfur doctors down tools after attack

March 30 – 2017 EL GENEINA

Doctors at El Geneina Teaching Hospital  downed tools and went on strike today in protest against frequent attacks from a member of the regular forces.

Speaking form the West Darfur capital, one of the doctors told Radio Dabanga they embarked on an instant strike after an assault on Dr Jalaluddin Ismail by a member of the regular forces this morning.

The doctors said that they will only lift the strike one the aggressor is prosecuted, and sufficient measures are installed to protect the medical staff working in the hospital.

The source added that some members of the regular force have repeatedly attacked doctors recently.

 

Three killed, nine injured in West Darfur camp protest

April 9 – 2017 EL GENEINA

Two women and a child were shot dead and nine others were wounded in Kerending camp for the displaced in El Geneina locality in West Darfur today.

“The problems started when the Commissioner of El Geneina decided to remove the Rokorko Market from the camp to the El Shaabi Market, one kilometre from the camp,” a camp elder told Radio Dabanga.

“The camp residents refused to accept the decision, saying that a kilometre walking can cost them their life because of the insecurity.”

The elder said that the commissioner then ordered the police and security forces to implement his decision and remove the market by force. “This morning, they ignited the market stalls, which angered the camp residents who in turn set fire to the police post and a number of locality buildings.

“Many others took to the streets in protest against the order. The authorities closed the bridge between the camp and El Geneina town and the main market of el Geneina as well,” he said. “Other forces then started to shoot at the protesters. Two women and a child were fatally hit. Nine others sustained injuries, five of them seriously.”

The wounded and the bodies of the dead were transferred to El Geneina Hospital.

 

Sudan Tribune

Police forces kill three protesters in West Darfur camp

April 9, 2017 (EL-GENEINA) – Three people were killed in a camp for internally displaced persons outside El-Geneina, West Darfur, when the police opened fire to disperse a protest by IDPs against a decision to relocate a local market to another area. An eyewitness told Sudan Tribune that the incident took place Sunday at the Krinding camp, on the outskirts of Geneina town, when a joint force from the police and security services started to remove the Rako Rako market in the implementation of a decision issued by El-Geneina commissioner. “During the removal process, a fire broke out in a shop made of local materials, and the IDPs demonstrated against the law enforcement agents who rushed to shoot on the protesters killing a woman and injured other dozens. Later, the hospital received the bodies of two people who died of gunshot wounds,” he said.

The residents of the Krinding camp, which is divided into two sections are mainly, Massailit people from South and East of West Darfur but there are also some Gimiir, Bargo, Tama and Zaghawa. There is no official statistics about the number of residents in the camp, but the WFP in its figures of 2015 says it assists some 5,428 households in Krinding 1 and 2,416 households in Krinding 2. A West Darfur official who preferred anonymity confirmed to Sudan Tribune the incident. He said El- Geneina commissioner since last month has issued a decision to relocate the market to a new market at two kilometres but the displaced refused the decision. The local official further said the decision has been taken because the current market has become a hideout for drug trafficking, adding that the police opened fire because some protesters were carrying grenades in their hands.

West Darfur market killings condemned

April 12 – 2017 EL GENEINA

The shooting at Kerending camp in El Geneina in West Darfur, that left two women and a child dead, and at least 12 people injured on Sunday has prompted a chorus of condemnation from outraged voices across Darfur.

The Darfur Bar Association issued a statement on Tuesday saying that “the attack [on Rokroko market of Kerending camp] in which force of arms was used without warning, nor measures taken to remove the market, are weak justifications.

The problems started when the Commissioner of El Geneina announced his decision to remove the Kerending camp market earlier this week.

After the displaced strongly opposed the idea, the Commissioner ordered police and security forces to remove the market by force. On Sunday morning they torched the market stalls, whereupon camp residents set fire to the police post and a number of locality buildings in the area. Other took to the streets in a protest march.

The government forces then started to shoot at the protesters.

“The attack on the market used excessive force, in which the property of the displaced people and the goods in the shops were burned,” the Bar Association says.

The statement condemned the practices of the authorities of West Darfur and El Geneina and held them responsible for the loss of innocent lives of civilians and the destruction and theft of their private property.

The Bar Association called for a speedy investigation and accountability, and for criminal charges to be filed against the officials. The Association also calls for compensation for the displaced for their material losses.

Call for resignation

In Khartoum, MP Siham Saleh Hasabullah held the Governor of West Darfur, Fadlul Mawla El Haja and his government responsible for the incidents, and demanded his resignation.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Siham confirmed that three people were shot dead and 12 others were wounded at camp Kerending when the displaced people protested against the decision to remove the market and transfer it east of El Geneina

She called on the Attorney-General for the formation of an independent committee to investigate the incident and bring those involved to justice.

In El Geneina the Forum of the Political Forces in West Darfur condemned the incident and held the Commissioner responsible for the incidents, called for forming a committee to investigate the facts and conduct an inventory into the material and human losses.

The statement also called for compensation for those affected and provision of basic services to the popular market so that it will be an attractive environment for commercial activity.

Man dies of injuries by West Darfur police

April 21 – 2017 EL GENEINA / SIRBA

A man died in the hospital in the capital of West Darfur after being beaten by police officers in El Banjadid in Sirba on Thursday.

Police arrested Yahya Suleiman immediately after he attended a meeting between the authorities of Sirba locality and the native administration last Sunday. Suleiman had objected to the decision of the native administration to collect a large amount of money from all villages in the locality, for the financial support of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

The native administration has ordered to collect SDG4 million ($594,813) in total from each village, a source clarified to Radio Dabanga.

The coordinator of the camps for displaced people in Sirba told Radio Dabanga that the arrested Suleiman was beaten by police officers. His health soon deteriorated and after he was transferred to El Geneina hospital Suleiman succumbed to his injuries on Thursday. Suleiman worked as an official in Sirba.

 

Tear gas used in West Darfur robberies

April 24 – 2017 EL GENEINA

Thieves have begun to use tear gas to rob people at wedding parties in the West Darfur capital.

“The phenomenon began six months ago in El Geneina as a form of organised crime,” journalist Alaeldin Babaker told Radio Dabanga on Sunday.

“A gang began to use asphyxiant to rob women guests at wedding parties of their jewellery, phones and purses. They throw the tear gas at the place where the women guests are gathering, and make use of the consternation to steal their valuables from the victims they identified before,” he explained.

“Usually, they throw the tear gas at the end of the wedding party. Most of the times, no one is seriously injured, but earlier this month, singer Nureldin Bargo suffered a burn in his hand at a wedding party where he performed.”

Babaker added that many people in the capital wonder about the way the thieves obtain the tear gas. “They have urged the authorities to start an investigation into this weird practice as soon as possible.”

 

(Report also in North Darfur)

Deadly robbery, abduction in West and North Darfur

May 2 – 2017 DALMANJA / TAWILA 

A man was killed in a robbery in West Darfur on Monday. Militiamen abducted a merchant in Tawila locality on Saturday.

Arbab Suleiman was murdered in his house in Dalmanja, West Darfur, on Monday morning. A relative of Suleiman told Radio Dabanga that three gunmen stormed his house and shot him dead. He said that the motives for the attack are unknown.

In Tarni, in North Darfur’s Tawila locality, militiamen abducted merchant Adam Hari Hussein on Saturday. Omda Mukhtar Bosh told Radio Dabanga that the attackers took Hussein while he was on his way from Fanga in East Jebel Marra back to Tawila.

“They rode four camels and a donkey, and took him to an unknown destination.” A local rescue team went out looking for Hussein but could not find him.

At the beginning of April, the handcuffed bodies of seven nomads, who had been kidnapped by cattle thieves in March, were found shot dead in Khazan Tunjur in Tawila locality.

Trucks with families

Meanwhile, Omda Mukhtar Bosh reported that a truck carrying a number of families from Kabkabiya and Saraf Omra arrived, guarded by militants in six Land Cruisers mounted with Dushka machine guns. The convoy stayed at Kulgi, south of Tawila, on Wednesday.

Bosh said the militants sent the locals away and prevented them from collecting straw, firewood or fetching water. “They said that Kulgi has become liberated and warned them not to return to collect straw, firewood or go to farming.”

Last weekend a local source in Gallab, West Darfur, reported to Radio Dabanga that “Militant foreigners who arrived in the past years threatened to beat and kill anyone who goes out to collect straw and firewood or cultivate their lands”. Militant foreigners had arrived in Gallab together with lorries carrying their families.

(Report also in Central Darfur)

Darfur displaced ‘under pressure’ from health issues, plans to dismantle camps

May 9 – 2017 DARFUR / ZALINGEI

Displaced people in camps in Darfur feel they are facing pressure to leave the camps while health issues continue to emerge. The government is preparing plans to dismantle the camps.

Yesterday, community elders from various camps reported to Radio Dabanga that the camps witness the spread of diabetes, blood pressure issues and mental illnesses among camp residents. They said these are caused “by the horrors of war, the living conditions and the economic crisis”.

One of the sheikhs of camp Murnei, in West Darfur, told this station that seventeen people had a leg amputated in the camp because of diabetes-related complications. About 20 people reportedly suffer from mental illness.

He called on the humanitarian authorities and organisations to provide health care and the necessary medical and psychological support, especially to the patients.

Continued announcements of the Sudanese government and the recent declaration of the US military attaché in Khartoum about the improved security situation in the region are signs of a campaign to increase the numbers of voluntary returnees from the camps to their areas of origin. While the majority of displaced long to return, reports of militiamen with their families occupying the abandoned villages and farms continue to emerge.

Poor hospitals

Meanwhile people in Zalingei, Central Darfur, are witnessing an increase in medicine prices, poor medical services, poor hospital environment, and a lack of life-saving medicines in the emergency sections.

Yesterday one of the residents told Radio Dabanga that no maintenance is done in the city’s hospital, and dirty wards, toilets, and broken fans cause mosquitoes to breed.

“Patients in the hospital suffer from their disease, but also the lack of medicine and high prices in the pharmacies.”

He called on the state authorities to expedite the sanitation of the hospital environment, maintenance of wards, improvement of hygiene standards and also to provide more medicine to the state.

 

‘Don’t move an inch’: West Darfur displaced reject model town

June 29 – 2017 EL GENEINA

Displaced people in West Darfur refuse to be replaced to a new town northwest of El Geneina, calling upon camp residents “not to move an inch from the camp”.

The Darfur Displaced and Refugees Association in West Darfur announced its rejection of the decision by State Governor Fadlelmowla El Haja. El Haja ordered to establish a new town for the displaced people in El Ghaba, northwest of the state capital – named ‘Abuzer’.

The association said in a statement on Wednesday that the displaced people “will not leave their camps until a comprehensive peace and security is achieved, militias are disarmed, and perpetrators of genocide in the region prosecuted”.

Those who met the governor and his delegation as representatives of the displaced community “do not represent the displaced and none of them were members of the Association”, it claimed.

The group calls on camp residents to reject the decision and not to move a single inch from the camp until their conditions are met.

On Tuesday, Governor El Haja announced the agreement he made with displaced people to establish a new town that would accommodate all displaced people from the camps in El Geneina.

He pledged his government’s commitment to provide all the necessary services of water, health and education to the new town of ‘Abuzer’, to accommodate the new residents.

Reasons for camp residents to refuse to parttcipate in voluntary return programmes by the Sudanese government mostly involve the worsened security situation in their home areas, where militias roam or unknown people have settled on their lands.

In February 2016, the UN and the government of Sudan signed documents worth $88.5 million in contributions from Qatar for projects in all Darfur states over a period of nearly two years. The majority would be spent on constructing model villages for displaced Darfuris.

Darfur displaced have often rejected relocations to model villages as they consider the situation in the conflict-torn western region far from secure enough to leave the camps.

 

Two wounded in West Darfur ammo explosion

July 17 – 2017 EL GENEINA

Two people were reportedly injured when a missile detonated in the military garrison of El Geneina, capital of West Darfur, on Saturday.

“We heard the sound of a huge explosion coming from the barracks of the 15^th Infantry Division in El Geneina,” a resident of El Geneina told Radio Dabanga.

“It turned out that a missile detonated and wounded only two people, including a senior commander.”

The source said that the cause of the explosion was unclear. “Yet some people say that a number of old missiles are kept in the store where the explosion occurred.”

The Division nor the Sudan Armed Forces officially commented on the incident.

In May this year, a huge explosion in the largest arms and ammunition storage building in the South Darfur capital of Nyala killed 12 people and wounded 18 others. Hundreds of homes were destroyed.

In El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan, six people were injured in April, when an ammunition depot of the Sudanese security apparatus exploded. Hours later, two people were killed and 13 others injured when an unexploded remnant from the blast detonated at the town’s shoe market.

In early 2015, ammunition in the stores of the Ed Damazin garrison in Blue Nile state detonated, which led to the burning of a number of houses in the vicinity.

 

Police chief killed by herders in West Darfur

July 31 – 2017 BEIDA

A police chief was shot dead and two policemen were wounded in an attack by herders on a police station in Beida in West Darfur on Saturday.

“The attack was a retaliation of the killing of a herder earlier that day,” a source from the area told Radio Dabanga.

He explained that the problems started when a herder released his livestock on a farm in the area of Tirbeiba in Beida locality.

“The farmer lodged a complaint at the police station of the Tirbeiba administrative unit, whereupon the police moved to the farm, and ordered the herder leave. After the herder refused, the dispute led to a gunfight in which the culprit was killed.”

The source said that a group of herders then launched an attack on the police station. “Police chief Daoud was shot dead and policemen Nimeiri and Zakaria were wounded.”

 

(Report also in North and Central Darfur)

ACJPS: ‘Upsurge in attacks on civilians in Darfur’

August 8 – 2017 DARFUR

There has been a marked upsurge in targeted attacks by Sudanese government forces on civilians in Darfur since May, according to the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS). The human rights monitor recorded several attacks on civilians and villages in the past months.

Government forces clashed with two rebel groups – the Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minawi (SLA-MM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLA-TC) – in East, Central, and North Darfur states between 28 May and 6 June. Tens of thousands of civilians were displaced during the clashes and subsequently as a result of attacks by government forces and allied militia on civilian areas, the ACJPS said yesterday.

Radio Dabanga reported in early July how hundreds of families – more than 2,000 people – fled the fighting in Ein Siro, North Darfur, and have arrived in a camp for displaced people in Kutum. The attacks in Ein Siro occurred between 28 May and 6 June and included members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other government-sponsored militias. They fought against Darfuri armed movements – of which there is no presence in any of the attacked villages, according to the ACJPS.

Trend in attacks

In late June and early July, ACJPS documented a continuing trend of targeted attacks on civilians in Central and West Darfur. The attacks on civilians appeared to have been prompted by the earlier clashes between government and armed opposition forces, and intended to punish or otherwise intimidate civilians living in the areas of rebel activity.

On 28 June, a prominent youth activist and leader in the camps for displaced people in Nierteti, Central Darfur, was killed by an unidentified militia group in front of his home. The police refused to file a criminal complaint and the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) prohibited his family from holding a public funeral or erecting a marquee for visitation and consolation. The local hospital also refused to accept his body for an autopsy.

On 29 June, around 50 uniformed soldiers of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) fired live ammunition on the market in Golo, Central Darfur, killing eleven people, including four children. Ten women and girls were raped and several homes and shops in the market were looted. At least thirty men were arrested and taken to the nearby army garrison. Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters have since been deployed to Golo and have prevented civilians from entering or leaving the area.

On 6 July a youth activist from Tor, Central Darfur, was abducted by an unidentified militia group on the road between Tor and Kass. His body was found four days later in a remote area near Tor, with gunshot wounds to his head and chest. The police refused to issue Criminal Form 8 to document the crime and the hospital refused to conduct an autopsy.

On 9 July, the police and RSF forcibly shut down Karnidink market in El Geneina, West Darfur. One woman and two children were killed during the incident, and twelve people were injured.

Protective measures

ACJPS calls on the Government of Sudan to cease attacks targeting the civilian population in Darfur, in particular killing, sexual violence and looting committed by its armed forces and allied militia.

 

Three villagers detained in Darfur

August 21 – 2017 SIRBA / NIERTETI

Members of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) held a displaced man in Sirba in West Darfur on Saturday, on charges of being a rebel fighter. On Thursday, Military Intelligence officers detained two displaced men in Central Darfur’s Nierteti.

“Security agents held Saddam Yagoub Yahya from the Libona village market, eight kilometres north of Sirba,” the coordinator of the Sirba camps told Radio Dabanga on Sunday.

“They first took him to the prison of Sirba, and from there to El Geneina,” he said. “When Saddam’s relatives asked them about the reason for the detention, they said that he belongs to the Justice and Equality Movement.”

The camp coordinator said that Yahya is living in the Libona camp for the displaced, and “has nothing to do with any of the armed movements”. He demanded the authorities to immediately release him.

On Thursday morning, Mousa Ibrahim and Zakaria Adam were held at the southern gate of Nierteti.

“They were on their way from the Tur camp for the displaced to the market of Nierteti when they were held by members of the Military Intelligence, and taken to an unknown location,” a relative of one of the victims reported to this station.

 

Chad-West Darfur border re-opens after shooting

September 8 – 2017 ADRE, CHAD

The governor of the Chadian Weddai province and the West Darfur governor held talks in Adre to calm the situation after the killing of a Sudanese officer, which caused the border between Sudan and Chad to close.

A Sudanese delegation headed by West Darfur Governor Fadlel Mawla El Haja and Weddai Governor Gen. Mohamed Bashir Akromi met in Adre, near El Geneina, following an incident on 22 August. A Sudanese officer of the Rapid Support Forces was killed and three others sustained injuries during fighting.

The incident in the Adkong border area, West Darfur, has strained the situation on the border between Sudan and Chad and completely closed it, but both sides agreed on re-opening the border.

The parties signed a covenant and a charter for the preservation and protection of the border between the two countries. Governor El Haja said: “The closure of the border with Chad was only meant to calm the security situation.”

He explained that the border closure was imperative “to avoid tribal friction over the killing of the officer”, but both sides decided to re-open the border for commercial convoys and the movement of Chadian and Sudanese citizens.

 

(Report also in East Darfur)

Soldiers, militiamen killed in shootings in Darfur

September 14 – 2017 ABU JABRA / MURNEI

A number of people was killed and wounded in a clash between a joint police and army force and drug traffickers in East Darfur. On Tuesday, a soldier was killed by militiamen in West Darfur.

The acting governor of East Darfur, Mudawi Abul Gasim, acknowledged to the media yesterday that there are a number of wounded members of the joint police and army force, who are in Khartoum for treatment. The clash with the drug traffickers occurred in Abu Jabra locality.

The state police chief Brig. Gen Jaafar Ahmed Osman said that the joint force managed to seize 48 sacks of cannabis, a motorcycle and a RBG-type multiple grenade launcher were seized.

Soldier killed

A member of the Sudanese army was killed and a member of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was wounded in Murnei in West Darfur. “Military personnel at the gates of Murnei denied two RSF militiamen on a motorcycle access to the town, as part of the ban on motorcycles inside the town,” a source told Radio Dabanga.

One of the RSF militiamen opened fire on the guards, killing one of them instantly. The military personnel returned fire and wounded one of the militiamen. The other one was captured.

 

Early grazing: Three farmers attacked in West Darfur

October 17 – 2017 KEREINIK / EL GENEINA

The attack on three women farmers in Kereinik locality, West Darfur, has raised calls for the arrest of the perpetrators and the collection of illegal weapons in the region.

Hanab Mohamed Adam, Mariam Abdallah and Nadifa Ahmed have been transferred from Um Tjona village in Kereinik to the hospital in El Geneina for further medical treatment, after they were shot by herders on Sunday.

One of the relatives of the wounded women told this station that three armed herders took their livestock to graze at the farms near Um Tjona. They chased the farmers out of the farms. The herders subsequently headed for the village where they opened fire and seriously wounded three women.

She reported that the herders also burned four houses at the village.

On Monday the National Liberation and Justice Party said that the incident in Um Tjona “requires urgent accountability, arrest of the perpetrators, and acceleration of the collection of weapons from civilians until the state can enjoy security and stability”.

Mutasim Arbab, the party’s political secretary in West Darfur, told Radio Dabanga: “The incident reflects the urgent need to collect arms and speed up operations in West Darfur by all concerned bodies.”

He called on the localities’ commissioners to work hard to protect the farms during the agricultural season and oblige cattle herders to follow the set deadlines for the early grazing. The period for grazing in the Darfur region does not start until February and herders who let their livestock graze the farmlands prematurely is known to cause tension with farmers each year.

Recently, people in Gireida in South Darfur also complained of raids on farms and roads. Last week two farming women were seriously wounded west of Gireida. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that three militiamen opened fire on the sisters Halima Musa and Khadija Musa, who were working on a farm in Um Asal.

 

(Report also in North Darfur)

25 dead as Chad camel raiders clash with West Darfur posse

October 19 – 2017 KULBUS / KABKABIYA

At least 25 people were killed and an unknown number wounded when armed camel rustlers from Chad clashed with a local rescue team in West Darfur this week. The situation in the area is reportedly still tense.

Sources told Radio Dabanga that the incident began on Monday when gunmen from neighbouring Chad stole camels belonging to Mattar Midkheir Awad at El Hatata area north of Kulbus in West Darfur.

A local rescue team managed to recover the camels on Tuesday after a clash that resulted in the death of three of the raiders. The thieves then launched a counter-attack; 15 raiders were killed, as well as eight members of the rescue posse.

Callers for the area say the situation as dangerous and tense, as there is no a large gathering and mobilisation of armed men in the area, but no government forces have responded.

They appealed to the police, government forces, and Unamid to intervene to avoid even more bloodshed.

Kabkabiya

At least six people were killed and three were wounded in clashes between militiamen in Kabkabiya in North Darfur. The incident led to the closure of Kabkabiya market for the whole of Tuesday as Rapid Support Forces (RSF) support at Kabkabiya market and its streets.

Sources told Radio Dabanga that the incidents were sparked when an armed group allegedly murdered two members of the Mahariya tribe and stole their motorcycles, five kilometres north of Kabkabiya on Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday, a crowd of Mahariya gathered to follow the trail of the assailants, which led to Um Delwa village, where there are forces of the border guards led by Seifu.

The sources said that Seifu denied any knowledge of the perpetrators. The two sides then exchanged fire. Six people died and three were wounded.

The sources said that a contingent of RSF in 14 vehicles arrived in the area to separate the two sides. The wounded were taken to Kabkabiya hospital.

 

(Report also in North Darfur)

Grazing livestock destroy tracts of Darfur food crops

October 22 – 2017 KUTUM / FORO BARANGA

Farmers in North Darfur’ Kutum locality complain that large tracts of farmland have been destroyed by herders driving livestock onto farms, while their complaints to the police and Unamid go unanswered.

Several farmers independently told Radio Dabanga that they are powerless to prevent the armed herders from driving their livestock including camels and cattle onto farms. They say that especially in Si Janna, Folo, Wadi Zuma, and Wadi Tali, fields of millet, sorghum, okra, watermelon, and Faggous cucumber have been destroyed.

This represents a major loss, as the crops are ready to be harvested They said they have filed several complaints to the authorities and Unamid without any response.

West Darfur

Farmers of Foro Baranga of West Darfur have also complained of armed herders driving sheep and goats onto their farms by force of arms.

The farmers demanded that the authorities to intervene to protect them and their farms against violations and abuses by herders.

 

Soldiers seize, beat merchant in West Darfur

November 7 – 2017 SIRBA / KUTUM

A merchant was severely beaten by military intelligence members in a military garrison in Sirba, West Darfur, on Sunday.

Members of the military intelligence severely beat merchant Abdallah Haroun in his shop in the Sirba camp for displaced people on Sunday. “They had asked about the price of women clothing. When Haroun mentioned the price of 150 Sudanese pounds, the soldiers said the pricing is too high,” explained the coordinator of the camps in Sirba.

They then took Haroun to the military garrison where they beat him. He was only released after a group of people protested his detention, in front of the garrison and the headquarters of the locality.

“A medical examination confirmed that Haroun was seriously injured in the head, causing his head to bleed. Doctors are treating him in the hospital in El Geneina,” the coordinator told Radio Dabanga.

Kidnap

Adam Ibrahim Ahmed has been detained in the military garrison in Abdel Shakur area in Kutum locality, North Darfur, since October. One of his relatives told Radio Dabanga that Sudanese soldiers arrested Ibrahim Ahmed on 2 October, when he was in Kutum for a social occasion.

“They took him to the military garrison in the area without explaining the reasons and motives for the arrest.”

He demanded the immediate release of Ahmed or to hand him over to the police in Kutum to face a trial, “if there is a charge against him”.

 

(Report also in South Darfur)

Darfur camp residents, farmers wounded in attacks

November 10 – 2017 GIREIDA / SIRBA

Militiamen wounded three students in a camp for displaced people in South Darfur on Thursday, where a fire destroyed a number of houses three days ago. In two separate incidents, armed men with livestock attacked groups of farmers.

One of the victims, all higher secondary school students, told Radio Dabanga that armed men injured a group of young men in Gireida camp who gathered building materials from the Abola area, east of Gireida. The material would be used to re-construct the buildings that were burned on Tuesday.

The attackers opened fire into the air, wounding students Fathi Idris Siyam, Mohamed Adam Ali, and Saeed Adam Ali. “Fathi Idris was seriously wounded and taken to a hospital in Nyala.”

On Tuesday a fire broke out at a camp in Gireida in South Darfur and damaged 25 houses and a quantity of crops.

Herders, farmers clash

On Thursday, armed herdsmen opened fire on a group of farmers and wounded two of them south of Gireida. A witness informed this station that they attacked the farmers when they attempted to chase away cattle that the herders released onto the farms. Mohamed Eisa and Ibrahim Daoud were injured.

“The herders’ livestock has destroyed large areas of agricultural crops south of Gireida,” the witness reported, adding that the areas which were affected the most are called Sennar, Banaya, Ous and Joghana.

Local police has been informed about the incident, the witness said, but has not moved to drive the livestock out of the farms.

On Sunday, armed men also attacked farmers in Gireida. An activist in the area reported that the men were herders and wore military uniforms. Two women were injured.

Displaced attacked

A group of armed men attacked four displaced women from Abu Suruj in Sirba, West Darfur, on Thursday. The men attacked the farming women reportedly to assault and rape them.

The coordinator of the Sirba camps told Radio Dabanga: “When they resisted, they beat the women and caused them varying injuries. Two of the women were taken to Abu Suruj hospital.”

The victims are Hawa Abdallah Abakar, Maryam Mohamed, Kaltoum Abakar and Aisha Abakar El Nur.

 

Journo held after West Darfur press conference

November 15 – 2017 EL GENEINA

Journalist Alaeldin Babikir was arrested by agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service on Monday, after attending a press conference held by West Darfur governor Fadlelmowla El Haja at the government secretariat in the state capital of El Geneina.

The Sudanese Journalists Network and the Darfur Media and Journalists Association condemned the arrest, demanded his immediate release, and warned about subjecting him to any type of physical or verbal abuse.

On Monday, West Darfur Governor El Haja announced at a conference the dissolution of the native administration at the second, third and fourth levels including Amir, Firsha, Omda or Sheikh, this along with the formation of a committee to resolve the issues and problems of nomads.

Journalist Alaeldin Babikir was also arrested as a result of covering bread demonstrations in El Geneina last year.

On Sunday the security authorities arrested students, Amin Khalid and Ahmed Sakari of the Faculty of Education at Refa’a complex in El Gezira for violating the ban on students’ political activity.

The Youth Secretariat of the Democratic Unionist Party said in a statement that members of the security services took the students from the front of Faculty of Education at Refa’a complex against the backdrop of the Democratic Unionist students’ violation of a decision banning political activity at the university.

The arrested students were taken to an unknown destination.

 

Herdsmen kill West Darfur farmer

December 5 – 2017 JEBEL MOON

Armed herders killed a farmer in Jebel Moon locality in West Darfur on Monday, when he tried to protect his farm against grazing livestock.

The herders trespassed the farm of Adam Zalat in Jebel Moon with their camels. The herdsmen came from Chad, a source told Radio Dabanga. When Zalat chased them away, the herders shot him and killed him on the spot.

The same herders reportedly trespassed other farms in the area, and beat three farmers on Sunday. “Locals reported the incidents to the joint Sudanese-Chadian border forces, but they did not move to chase the perpetrators,” the source reported.

 

Two girls raped in West Darfur

December 11 – 2017 FORO BARANGA

Two girls were raped in Foro Baranga in West Darfur on Saturday.

Armed herders attacked a 12-year-old and a 17-year-old girl at Ras El Fil, where they were out collecting firewood. A witness told Radio Dabanga that the girls were repeatedly raped and beaten at gunpoint.

The victims were treated at the local health centre in Ras El Fil and their families filed a report to police detective Sergeant Adam Nyala.

 

Five bodies found in West Darfur organ trafficking investigation

December 27 – 2017 MURNEI

A Sudanese forensic team has unearthed five bodies in the grounds of a house in Murnei in West Darfur this week. The specialist team from Khartoum is investigating a case of the murder of 10 displaced people, allegedly by a gang of human organ traffickers.

In early December, the security authorities in West Darfur arrested 12 suspects, including health assistants, for alleged involvement in the murder of a butcher in Murnei, as well as the disappearance of seven other people over the past four months.

On Monday a team of doctors, security, and police conducted a search at the house of Ismail Mohamed who is accused of killing 10 displaced people from camp Murnei in West Darfur.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that on Monday Kereinik locality commissioner arrived with a medical team from Khartoum. Two bodies were exhumed on Monday and three more on Tuesday. The search continued on Wednesday.

Police sources confirmed that the discovery of the members of the group happened after finding the dead body of butcher Saleh Yousif. “Investigations have led to the arrest of a farmer who admitted killing the butcher. The suspect said he was working for a gang of doctors, luring people to undergo operations where they would be stripped of their organs”.

Witnesses said suspect Ismail Mohammed has now admitted to killing 10 people including five women.

The known victims are: Alawiya, Hawa, Fatima, Rugeiya, Fatima, Saleh Yousif, Adam Abakar, Eisa Musa, Mustafa, and Haroun Ismael.

 

Grenade blast kills West Darfur drug police, 11 dead in Sudan road carnage

December 29 – 2017 EL GENEINA / ATBARA / WAD MADANI

Two anti-drug policemen were killed and three other people injured in a blast when a suspect threw a grenade at them during a chase in El Geneina, capital of West Darfur, on Wednesday afternoon.

Two other members of the combat forces were injured as well as the owner of a cart.

Ibrahim Idris (23), and Kaltoum Adam (43), were wounded by members of the Border Guards at Dankoj area, 10 km east of Zalingei in Central Darfur.

The sources told Radio Dabanga that two Border Guards’ members opened fire in the direction of a gathering in the market area after a verbal clash between them and restaurant owner, Kaltoum Adam over the bill for a meal.

Road carnage

Four people died in a traffic accident at El Basabir area of the River Nile state on Thursday.

The accident occurred when their small vehicle collided with a truck on the road between Khartoum and Atbara.

Tuesday also witnessed the death of seven people and injury of 17 others following a traffic accident between a Toyota Corolla and a minibus on the Khartoum – Wad Madani highway near El Maseed.

 

Darfuri student killed in Sudan protests against price hikes

January 8 – 2018 EL GENEINA / NYALA / ED DAMAZIN / KHARTOUM

On Sunday, the third day of demonstrations against the 300% price increases that hit the country last week, a student was killed in the West Darfur capital of El Geneina. Other parts of the country witnessed protests as well,

When demonstrators in El Geneina set fire to the local headquarters of the ruling National Congress Party in the city, government forces opened fire on the crowd.

Secondary school student El Zubeir Ibrahim Sikiran was killed instantly. Eight others were wounded. Dozens were detained.

The West Darfur authorities ordered the formation of committee to investigate the killing. All schools are closed for a week.

Abdelwahab Mohamed, Head of the National Equality and Justice Party in West Darfur called on the Sudanese government to intervene and halt the price surges of basic commodities in the country. He also urged the Economic Security Service to regain control of the market prices.

Sudan imports many food items and most of the medicines needed. In 2015, Sudan imported more than two million tons of wheat at a cost of $1.5 billion. The recurrent flour crises during the past few years have been attributed to the scarcity of foreign currency.

In a bid to fight the steadily increasing hard currency rate at the black market, the government in end December decided to raise the customs rate of the Dollar from SDG 6.7 to SDG 18. After this measure came into effect on Tuesday, the prices of the main consumer goods doubled or even tripled.

Rapid Support Forces

On Sunday morning, secondary school students demonstrated also in Nyala, capital of South Darfur. They chanted slogans against the doubling of the bread price. Others blocked the main three streets in the city with burning tyres for several hours.

The South Darfur authorities deployed large numbers of militiamen belonging to the Rapid Support Forces in the centre of the capital to support the state police.

In Ed Damazin, people took to the streets on Saturday morning. The security forces used tear gas and excessive force to break up the demonstrations that moved from various neighbourhoods of the Blue Nile State capital to the city market.

A student reported to this station that two houses in El Zuhour district burned down during the violence. Dozens of demonstrators, among them a number of students of the Blue Nile University, were held, and have been taken to an unknown destination.

Security forces guard a gate of the University of Khartoum, Jan. 7, 2018 (RD)

On Friday and Saturday, Khartoum, Atbara, and Sennar witnessed small protests in a number of neighbourhoods as well.

A demonstration of students of the University of Khartoum on Sunday afternoon was immediately halted by police forces who closed the nearby streets, and used tear gas to disperse the protesters.

Students told this station that many of them suffered from breathing problems because of the excessive use of tear gas. An unknown number of students were wounded. Dozens were detained.

‘Sabotage’

On Sunday, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, Babikir Digna, told the press in Khartoum that his Ministry “will not hesitate to crack down on any subversive demonstration against the price hikes”.

“We will suppress any sabotage attempts,” he stressed, and added that peaceful demonstrations are permitted after obtaining a permission from the authorities in advance, “just as in any other country in the world”.

 

West Darfur NISS releases protesting teachers

January 11 – 2018 EL GENEINA / KOSTI

Four teachers who were accused of inciting the bread price protests in the West Darfur capital, have been released. Police in White Nile state arrested 34 students of the Kosti Technical School on Tuesday.

Sudanese authorities released four teachers from a total of eight to fifteen teachers who were arrested on charges of inciting demonstrations against the high bread prices in El Geneina, West Darfur, that took place on Sunday.

This week, a Sudanese teachers’ committee had called on all colleagues in the country to unite and publicly reject the 2018 budget of the government.

On Monday and Tuesday, members of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) stormed a number of schools and houses where they arrested between eight and fifteen higher secondary school teachers they accused of the incitement.

Most of them came from Muheldin, Nurel Maaref and Abubakr Nasir schools. In addition, an activist named Musab Abdelmajid was arrested during the protests.

Bread price protests

Last Sunday, El Geneina town witnessed demonstrations against the recent surge of prices of basic goods and the shortage of bread. Riot police fired bullets and tear gas at the crowd, and killed student El Zubeir Ibrahim Sikiran. All schools were closed for a week after the incident.

White Nile students detained

Police in White Nile state arrested 34 students of the Kosti Technical School on Tuesday and held them for several hours before releasing them the same evening. The students had protested against expensive breakfasts.

Police in central Kosti arrested the students against the backdrop of their protest against the increase of prices for breakfasts in places near school.

Lawyer Essam Abdelsalam told Radio Dabanga that the lawyers had to intervene in order for the police to release the students from detention. All arrested students were under the age of 16.

Their detention therefore is a violation of the 2010 Children’s Act, according to Abdelsalam, which stipulates that children should be held in the custody of the family and child protection police instead of public jails.

 

Traders refuse to lower prices, arrested in West Darfur

January 16 – 2018 SIRBA

Four traders were arrested in Sirba, West Darfur, on Saturday, on charges of incitement, and they have not been released so far.

Traders Babikir Ishag Ismael, Fadul Mohamed Musa, Ishag Ibrahim and Abbakra were arrested in El Banjadid, 9 km west of Sirba.

The coordinator of Sirba camps for displaced people told Radio Dabanga that the arrest took place against the background of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) members who demanded merchants at the market to lower their prices.

“This, the traders refused, on the pretext that the prices are general. The traders import the goods from El Geneina markets at these high prices,” the coordinator explained.

Traders protested and closed the market, upon which the police arrested four of them on charges of incitement. They have been handed over to the security apparatus in Tendelti.

The prices of consumer goods such as sugar, flour, spaghetti, oil and milk in markets in Sudan have went up high. In early January, the Sudanese markets were hit by the consequences of financial measures taken by the government based on the 2018 National Budget.

 

Sudan Tribune

Chadian militia kills 8 tribesmen in West Darfur: native administrator

February 13, 2108 (EL-GENEINA) Seven people were killed and eight injured in an armed attack by Chadian militias against Mistry village, in the locality of Baida, West Darfur State. A native leader of the Rezeigat tribe, Al-Sayer Issa Balla, told Sudan Tribune that “Chadian militias from Zaghawa tribe on Monday carried out an attack against Mistry killing 7 Rezeigat tribesmen and injuring 8 others”. He added the attacking militias stole more than 460 heads of camels and cows before they crossed the borders to Chad, saying a number of vehicles carrying weapons and gunmen have secured the escape of the perpetrators into the Chadian territory. Balla pointed out that the attack is the fifth of its kind, calling on West Darfur government to protect its residents and their property against the repeated attacks.

 

Chad militiamen kill seven in West Darfur cattle raid

February 14 – 2018 BEIDA LOCALITY

Seven people were shot dead and eight others were wounded in an armed cattle theft operation allegedly carried out by militiamen from Chad at Mitere administrative unit of Beida locality in West Darfur on Monday.

Witnesses and sources from Beida locality told Radio Dabanga that the raiders netted about 500 head of cattle and drove them across the border into Chad.

The eight killed were: Bahr Ahmed Ismail, Balla Saeed, Khatir Ahmed, Ismail Kulma, Mohamed Abdelkarim, Juma Adam Ahmed and Abdelkarim Albein.

Incidents across the largely unguarded border between Chad and Darfur are common. In December 2017, armed herders from Chad killed a farmer in Jebel Moon locality in West Darfur when he tried to protect his farm against grazing livestock.

(Report also in South Darfur)

Man bayoneted to death in Darfur, others injured in clash with RSF militia

February 18 – 2018 SIRBA / ED EL FURSAN

A resident of the Kendebbe camp for the displaced in West Darfur’s Sirba was killed by an unknown gunman on Thursday. In Ed El Fursan in South Darfur, five people and two members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were wounded at the town’s market.

On Thursday evening, a gunman intercepted a group of men living in the Kendebbe camp on their way home after having prayed at a mosque in the neighbourhood.

“He pointed his gun with a bayonet at us and ordered us to hand him our money and mobile phones,” one of the victims told Radio Dabanga.

“When Jamal Andak Yahya protested, he stabbed him three times with his bayonet,” he said. “Jamal died instantly, after which the attacker fled.”

Market

Five visitors and two RSF militiamen were injured in a fight at the market of Ed El Fursan in South Darfur.

The head of the Bani Halba tribe, El Tom Eisa Dabka, reported to this station that the reasons for the clash are not clear. “Suddenly the people were fighting and stabbing each other.”

He explained that the RSF men are wreaking havoc in the area since the government militia took over the Ed El Fursan base from the UN-AU peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (Unamid) in October last year. “The people living in the area protested but the RSF Deputy-Commander, Esam Fadil, replied that the Presidency gave him the right to take over the mission’s base.”

Unamid sites

In June last year, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2363 that renewed Unamid’s mandate with another year, yet with a reduction of more than a third of the nearly 19,000 Unamid military troops and police officers present in Darfur.

The Mission’s team sites are handed over to the Sudanese government or appropriate private parties as per lease agreements signed by the Mission, Unamid said in a press statement in September.

Unamid responded to claims by Darfur rebel movements that it had handed its sites in El Malha and Mellit in North Darfur “to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) government militia”.

According to rebel movements, the agreement signed between Khartoum and Unamid on the reduction of the peacekeeping troops stipulates that any property left by the mission is should be handed to the local authorities, and is to be used for civilian purposes only.

West Darfur camp sheikh murdered on farm – herder held, two at large

March 9 – 2018 CAMP MURNEI

The Head Sheikh of Camp Murnei for the displaced in West Darfur has been murdered, allegedly by armed herdsmen, as he worked on his farm at Arum area west of Murnei on Wednesday.

A camp resident told Radio Dabanga that Abdelrasoul Aburifa was tilling his farm when a gang of three armed herders opened fire on him. Aburifa died instantly.

The witness said police managed to arrest one of the alleged perpetrators while the other two are still being hunted-down.

(Report also in East and South Darfur)

1,000+ homes destroyed in East Darfur camp inferno

March 19 – 2018 ED DAEIN

A massive fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes in the displaced camps district of Ed Daein on East Darfur. No human casualties were reported, however the four camps of Dabanga, Areida, Garnaya, and Um Sauna suffered extensive damage.

The fire completely destroyed 15 shops and storage facilities at Dabanga Market. One of the camp sheikhs told Dabanga Radio that at least 1,000 families have been affected and that the preliminary inventory estimated the damage at about SDG 40 billion (*$2 million).

The Commissioner of Ed Daein, Ali El Tahir, said “the fire has been the largest of its kind in the recent period as it has destroyed the whole contents of about 1,000 houses.

West Darfur

In a separate incident, fire broke out at Konge village of Kereinik locality in West Darfur and destroyed more than 20 houses.

North Darfur

Another fire that broke out at camp El Salam in Nyala destroyed the houses of dozens of displaced people and caused great property losses.

Many of the homes and shelters in Darfur camps are built of wood and sticks, and most cooking perfiormed on open fires so there is a significant hazard.

* Based on the official US Dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS)

(Report also in North Darfur)

Darfur fires burn two children, damage houses

April 6 – 2018 EL FASHER / KEREINIK

Fires in two separate incidents led to the serious injury of two children and destruction of over 30 houses in North and West Darfur on Wednesday.

On Wednesday evening a fire broke out in El Ingaz district in southern El Fasher city. It caused serious burning to two children. The full contents of 23 houses in the capital city were destroyed.

People affected by the fire have appealed to the authorities to help them. A listener reported to Radio Dabanga that these families are living out in the open without shelter, cover or food.

A second fire that day completely destroyed 20 houses in Abuja camp for displaced people in Kereinik locality, West Darfur. Another twelve houses were badly damaged. No injuries were reported.

Affected displaced people estimated that cash amounting to SDG 740 ($40.70) was burned, according to one of the victims, Khamis Abdelrahman. He told this station yesterday that the cause of the fire are still not known.

 

West Darfur Imam arrested for speech on disputed land

May 8 – 2018 EL GENEINA

The Imam of a mosque in El Geneina was arrested on Saturday following a speech about a nearby disputed area. He called upon people to not abandon the land which they were forced to leave.

A relative of Sheikh Yousef Mohamed Abakar, Imam of the mosque in El Shati city district, informed Radio Dabanga about his arrest. It came against the backdrop of his address to the people of the disputed Gumeiyza area, east of El Geneina, in which the sheikh requested them to defend it and not abandon their land from which they had forcibly been displaced.

Sheikh Abakar was also arrested in the year 2012, the relative said, and he was taken to El Huda prison in Omdurman where he was detained for nine months.

‘Prisons overcrowded’

Siddig Yousef, the chairman of a solidarity committee for detainees in Sudan, said that despite the presidential decree to release all political detainees from prisons in Sudan, “the prisons remain overcrowded with detainees from Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

“Some of them have been accused of terrorism and will be tried on this basis while some are still awaiting trial in security cells.”

On April 10, President Omar Al Bashir issued a presidential decree, ordering the release of all political detainees in the country. Following the announcement international organisations such as Human Rights Watch and the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) welcomed the move, yet expressed deep concern about dozens of people who are still in detention for a long time without charge or access to justice.

‘Armed herders shot seven farmers’: West Darfur camp leader

June 1 – 2018 KEREINIK

Gunmen shot and wounded seven farmers in Kereinik locality in West Darfur on Wednesday.

The coordinator of the camps for displaced people in West Darfur, Adam Rujal, told Radio Dabanga that armed herdsmen attacked a group of farmers in Jebel Ari. “There were ten armed men on camels and horses. They claimed that the land where the farmers had started plowing is their property.”

The quarrel resulted in the gunmen shooting the farmers. Five of them were seriously injured, and taken to El Geneina hospital. Two others sustained minor injuries.

Among the wounded are Omar Khamis Ibrahim, Suleiman Idris Haroun, Mustafa Idris Haroun and Adam Haroun Arbab.

Clashes between herders and farmers happen regularly following friction over land in the region Darfur. Throughout 2018 Radio Dabanga has also received reports of attacks on people leaving the camps for the displaced and returning to their home areas, carried out by armed men or armed new settlers in the area.

‘Displaced farmers, new settlers’ clash in West Darfur

June 19 – 2018 EL GENEINA 

A man was killed in a clash in El Geneina locality in West Darfur on Sunday. The fight reportedly broke out between displaced people returning home and new settlers in the area.

El Tahir Omar Hashim was killed and 17 others were injured near Karti village, 5 km north of El Geneina. One of the victims’ relatives reported that paramilitary troops attacked a group of displaced people who had voluntarily returned from camps in El Geneina.

“The new the settlers prevented some displaced people from cultivating the farmland in Karti,” the relative told Radio Dabanga. When displaced people in camps in El Geneina heard the news, they moved towards Karti by vehicle.

“There a group of Rapid Support Forces fighters intercepted their way and told them not to go to Karti, and return to El Geneina.” The quarrel resulted in the militiamen shooting the displaced people, and the wounding of El Tahir Omar Hashim, Osman El Tahir Sharif and El Tayeb Hashim. 15 other people were beaten with sticks. El Tahir succumbed to his injuries later, while Osman and El Tayeb are being treated in the hospital in El Geneina. The other wounded have been discharged.

Voluntary return is one of the options which the Sudanese government gives to the people in Darfur who have been displaced by the armed conflict that erupted in 2003. Khartoum plans to transform the camps into residential areas, or integrate them into existing towns.

Herders attack police station in West Darfur

June 30 – 2018 SIRBA

Two policemen were wounded in an attack by a group of herders on a police station in West Darfur on Tuesday evening.

The incident took place in the Hamida police station in Sirba locality. A number of witnesses told Radio Dabanga that on Tuesday, herders prevented farmers of Hamida from farming their lands. The herders beat them and expelled them from the lands.

The farmers filed a complaint to the Hamida police station. Police arrived at the farms to intervene and ordered the herders to leave.

On Tuesday evening the herders attacked Hamida police station and severely wounded two policemen, who were taken to El Geneina for treatment. According to a witness on Thursday, the situation in Hamida is very tense and transportation has come to a complete halt in the area.

On May 30, armed herdsmen attacked a group of farmers in Jebel Ari in Kereinik locality. According to a camp coordinator, the herders claimed that the land where the farmers had started plowing is their property. The quarrel resulted in the gunmen shooting the farmers.

 

(Report also in South and Central Darfur)

Omda dies of wounds, farmer killed in Darfur

July 20 – 2018 NYALA / NIERTETI / EL GENEINA 

The omda of Digris in Nyala locality has died of his wounds in the hospital on Wednesday. He and his wife were fatally shot in their house on Wednesday July 11.

Omda Jibril Ahmed Ali Muhajir succumbed to the wounds in his chest and thigh in Nyala hospital. Gunmen had attacked the couple a week before. Aisha Mohamed Adam was killed on the spot and Jibril Ahmed taken to hospital in a serious condition.

They had recently returned from Kalma camp for displaced people to their home area, as part of the government’s voluntary return programme.

Omda Jibril Ahmed Ali Muhajir of Digris village in Nyala hospital (RD

At least nine people have been killed since the start of the current agricultural season in Gireida in South Darfur, all of whom have been voluntary returnees to their villages this rainy season, this station reported in June.

Farmer killed

Militiamen shot dead a 45-year-old man north of Tur in Nierteti, Central Darfur, on Wednesday. The incident took place in Kalu, north of Tur.

Family members of Siddig Osman told radio Dabanga that he was on his way back from his farm to the camps in Tur when “members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces” shot him.

Disarmament

The government in West Darfur has announced “a comprehensive plan to collect illegally possessed weapons and prevent unlicensed vehicles”.

Deputy Governor Mohamed Sharafeldin confirmed that “no unlicensed vehicle will be allowed to move and roam within the state’s geographical boundaries” in El Geneina on Wednesday. He said that the compulsory disarmament campaign was the result of a number of owners who have not adhered to the call to voluntarily hand in their arms or unlicensed vehicles.

The state authorities raided Warah village for this reason on Wednesday, seizing weapons, ammunition, military uniforms and six four-wheel drive vehicles.

 

West Darfur forces seize illegal arms, unlicensed vehicles

August 3 – 2018 EL GENEINA

The governor of West Darfur reported the seizure of large quantities of arms since the start of the re-enforced disarmament campaign in July.

Governor Hussein Yasin told the press in the West Darfur capital of El Geneina on Thursday that several raids into town districts, villages, and nomads’ settlements have led to the seizure of large quantities of weapons, ammunition and military equipment so far.

In mid July, the West Darfur authorities announced “a comprehensive plan” to rid the state of illegal arms and vehicles. A High Committee for the Collecting of Arms and Unlicensed Vehicles was formed to implement the compulsory phase of the disarmament campaign that started in Darfur in August last year. A joint force of army and security troops are implementing the campaign.

The committee will also check the roads on unlicensed vehicles. For this purpose, check-points have been set-up at specific crossings.

The governor said he hopes to declare the state free of weapons soon.

Last year in July, the Sudanese government announced a large disarmament campaign in the country, to begin with in Darfur and Kordofan.

Members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan’s main government militia, and the army were tasked to collect illegal arms and unlicensed vehicles from civilians. In North Darfur alone, more than 12,500 RSF troops were deployed for this purpose.

The phase of the voluntary handover of weapons ended and compulsory collection began in end October. By then, about 30,000 weapons had been collected, out of an estimated 700,000 illegal weapons circulating in Darfur.

Moreover, sources told Radio Dabanga in January this year that a number of militiamen in the region refused to return the weapons and Land Cruisers provided to them to carry out the disarmament campaign.They said that hundreds of militiamen took the vehicles to Libya and Chad, towards Niger. Others went southward.

In early May, Sudan’s Second Vice-President, Hasabo Abdelrahman, announced the re-enforcemnt of the disarmament campaign in Darfur.

Fears for West Darfur office worker detained by security

August 22 – 2018 FORO BARANGA

On Sunday, the security services arrested Faisal Ismael in Foro Baranga locality in West Darfur and took him to an unknown destination.

Witnesses said that members of the National Intelligence and Security Serivice (NISS) security services raided the office of employee Faisal Ismael.

The witnesses said that they were unaware of the motives and reasons for Faisal’s arrest. They expressed concern that he might be subjected to torture or ill-treatment by elements of the security apparatus and appealed to human rights and humanitarian organisations to intervene to release him immediately.

West Darfur students beaten, arrested

September 18 – 2018 EL GENEINA

Dozens of students of El Geneina University sustained injuries and at least five students were arrested against the backdrop of student protests which the security service confronted with violence.

A woman student in El Zahra dormitory for students was stabbed by an unknown person on Sunday night. This sparked students into demonstrating against the incident on Monday, several students told Radio Dabanga.

A force of the security service arrived at the scene and went inside the dormitory, where they beat students. “This beating coincided with an earlier demonstration by students of the university against the deterioration of basic services in El Zahra dormitory,” a student said.

Angered by the events, a group of students marched to the dormitory but the security service stopped them on Monday in their tracks. They were confronted with bullets and tear gas and four students were seriously wounded: Musab Ahmed Yahya, Ali Adam Abdelkarim, and two others called Tijani and Abdelmajid.

At least five students were detained, a witness reported to this station, including Mousa Mohamed Ahmed.

Sudan security agents detain four more West Darfur students

September 19 – 2018 EL GENEINA

Agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrested four more students of the University of El Geneina on Tuesday.

On Monday, 11 students of the University of El Geneina, capital of West Darfur, were reportedly beaten and detained by security troops.

After the stabbing of a woman student in El Zahra dormitory in the town on Sunday night, the students took to the streets in protest against the violent incident. Later that day, a group of students demonstrated against the deterioration of basic services in the boarding houses of the university.

Security forces intervened using batons, tear gas, and bullets. Dozens of students were injured.

A number of students told Radio Dabanga on Tuesday afternoon that NISS agents held four more students that morning: Najmeldin Adam, Abubakr Abdallah, Abdallah Shibeika, and Mohamed Ahmed.

They added that six of the 11 students held on Monday were released after the head of the university’s Student Affairs department intervened. The five other, wounded, students are still being held in the Military Hospital of El Geneina. No one is allowed to visit them.

The sources said they expect more students to be detained the coming days, “as security forces are still besieging the dormitories”.

 

Three West Darfur schoolgirls raped

October 9 – 2018 MURNEI

Three basic school students were raped near Murnei in West Darfur on Saturday. One suspect has been detained.

A witness told Radio Dabanga that a number of people believed to be herders attacked three girls aged 9, 12, and 14, while they were collecting firewood at Aishbara area west of Murnei and repeatedly raped them.

The witness said that one of the girls was taken to El Geneina hospital for treatment.

A local rescue team managed to detain one of the alleged perpetrators and reported the incident to the police of Murnei.

Herders bind, beat displaced wood gatherers in West Darfur

October 18 – 2018 MURNEI CAMP

A group of herders bound and beat a number of displaced people from Murnei camp in West Darfur on Monday, and caused serious injuries to four of them.

One of the sheikhs of the camp reported to Radio Dabanga that on Monday a group of herders attacked displaced people while they were collecting firewood north of the camp. The men allegedly bound them at gunpoint, and then proceeded to beat and torture them for the entire day, only releasing them on Tuesday.

He said the herders threatened to kill them if they return to the area, as the herders consider it as grazing rather than for logging or farming.

Robbery

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, two people were killed and four others were wounded in a road robbery in Gireida in South Darfur on Monday. Herders shot a farmer in North Darfur’s Tawila.

Witnesses reported to Radio Dabanga that 10 gunmen riding on camels opened fire on a commercial vehicle en route from Sirgeila to Gireida on Monday evening.

“Eisa Adam and Ahmed Mohamed were fatally hit. Abdallah Ibrahim, Awadallah Abdelkarim, El Sayer Yahya, and Omar Ibrahim were wounded,” one of them said.

Gunmen kill West Darfur policeman, farms damaged

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.

Six Darfuri Sheikhs slain by hungry mob at refugee camp in Chad

October 31 – 2018 BREDJING CAMP – CHAD

Six Sheikhs of the Bredjing camp that houses mainly Darfuri refugees near Adré in eastern Chad were killed, and 17 others injured in clashes and mob violence in the camp on Monday.

Sheikh Ali Yagoub, head of the Treguine refugee camp, located near Bredjing camp, said that the Darfuri refugees in Bredjing camp rejected the decision of the humanitarian organisations to stop the food rations of some 2,000 refugees out of 43,000 in the camp based on the inventory of the food cards on the pretext that they are capable.

He said the refugees rejected the decision and agreed with the camp sheikh not to take food if it is not distributed for all refugees.

Donor organisations

He explained that in a meeting with donor organisations, the head of the camp, Dahiya Ismail, agreed to the distribution of food according to the inventory of organisations similar to the rest of the camps. Some refugees considered this a concession by the head of the camp and the sheikhs, as well as an acceptance of the idea of voluntary return.

Regarding the developments that followed this problem, the sheikh said that a committee that he had joined with the Omda of the area had mediated to solve the problems at the request of the governor of Ouaddaï which led to the suspension of the head of Bredjing camp, Dahiya Ismail, for one month and continued the dialogue on the issue of reclassifying cards between sheikhs and donor organisations.

Mob attack

He said that on Sunday a number of refugees then attacked the homes of the sheikhs and head of Bredjing camp and broke in after hearing rumours that they agreed to a visit of a Sudanese government delegation to the camp.

He said the assault on houses prompted the camp head and a number of sheikhs to go to the protection centre of the Chadian camp, which they sought protection.

He said that on Monday morning the security forces in turn arrested a refugee named Gamar on suspicion of leading the assault on the homes of the sheikhs on Sunday evening.

As a result, hundreds of refugees gathered and attacked the centre of the camp protection force, which forced them to withdraw for a small number of personnel.

Arson

He said that the attackers set fire to the office and forced the sheikhs and the head of the camp to leave the centre, and then the crowd beat them with sticks and stabbed them with knives, killing Sheikh Bahreldin Osman instantly and injuring 22 others. He pointed out that there were a number of people who were transferred to Abeche Hospital some of whom died on the way, including Dahya Ismail, the head of the camp, educational supervisor Abubaker Zakariya, and sheikhs Idris Khamis, Abubaker Abdelkarim while there are still 17 injured being treated, six of them in Abeche and 11 in Hajar Hadid.

He described the situation in the camp as calm after the presence of the security forces and Chadian police, which began to prosecute the accused.

Four slain by armed herders in West Darfur

December 4 – 2018 KULBUS

Herders shot and killed four people and wounded another in Kulbus locality in West Darfur, on Sunday.

One of the relatives of the deceased told Radio Dabanga that camel herders accused the residents of Argud village of killing one of their comrades. His body was found near Argud.

The relative said that the villagers then asked the herders to inform the police. “The herders insisted that they hand over the alleged murderer. When the people told them that they knew the accused man and were unwilling to hand him over, the herders opened fire.”

Mohamed Ahmed, his son El Dadi, Abakar Adam, and Yahya Eisa were killed. Another villager was injured.

 

(Report also in North Darfur)

Four dead, homes burned in Darfur militia violence

January 27 – 2019 EL GENEINA / TAWILA

Two people were killed, 47 houses were burned, and 180 head of cattle were stolen in an attack by militiamen on a village in West Darfur on Wednesday. In Tawila in North Darfur, gunmen shot and killed two men in separate incidents on Thursday.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that gunmen dressed in military uniforms driving a Land Cruiser raided Kura village in Jebel Moon on Wednesday morning. When the residents confronted them, the attackers opened fire, killing two villagers instantly.

The gunmen then torched 47 houses, and left with 180 cattle.

Tawila

On Thursday, three armed men in army uniforms killed Adam Ibrahim on his farm near Karu village west of Fanga in Tawila locality, apparently without a reason, according to witnesses.

Yahya Eisa was shot dead by unknown gunmen while he was collecting firewood in the area of Katur.

 

Sudan Tribune

Three civilians reportedly killed in West Darfur

March 14, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – Three people have been killed by Sudanese government militiamen in Ardmita camp for displaced people in West Darfur state, said press releases by the Sudanese opposition group on Thursday. According to the statements extended to Sudan Tribune with photos showing the bodies of two victims, the killing took place on Wednesday when the fighters of the Rapid Support Forces raided the camp. However, the circumstances of the attack were not elucidated. Also, the state authorities did not issue a statement on the attack.

The news about the attack was first reported by the Sudanese Congress Party which spoke about five victims but the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minnawi, Justice and Equality Movement, SPLM-N North led Malik Agar and the National Umma Party spoke about the killing of three people. The statements, also, said five other people were gravely wounded.

DISEASE AND EPIDEMICS KILLING CIVILIANS

Disease and epidemics continue to spread in the rebel-controlled areas in Jebel Marra, killing one child and affecting many others, said the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW).

The absence of medicines and medical devices for diagnosis, forcing citizens to resort to the use of herbal remedies as an alternative for medicines, further said the rebel group which reject to hold talks with the government.

 

West Darfur killings spark large-scale protest march

March 15 – 2019 ARDAMATA / EL GENEINA

The killing of six people near El Geneina,  West Darfur, on Wednesday sparked widespread protests in the state capital that denounced the incident and demanded the overthrowing of the regime.

Gunmen attacked six displaced people from Ardamata camp who were collecting straw at Arafa, east of El Geneina Airport. The attackers were blocked in their attempt to rob the displaced people of their donkey carts.

The cart owners confronted the gunmen and killed three of them, while wounding two others. The gunmen injured two of the cart owners.

A source in the area reported to Radio Dabanga that the cart owners surrendered themselves to the police after the incident. Witnesses said that the gunmen returned in two vehicles, kidnapped three people near the Ardamata camp. They tied two of the abductees down and shot them dead.

The third person was tied to one of their vehicles and dragged until he died.

The incident sparked anger among people in Ardamata camp and in El Geneina town, who went out in a large demonstration to denounce the violence and demand the regime to be overthrown.

The demonstration turned into a march from Ardamata, with people carrying the bodies of the dead, through the street of El Geneina before heading to the government secretariat and the house of the Sultan of the Masalit tribe.

During the protest, shops in the market were closed, as a number of shop owners joined the protesters, according to a witness.

A month ago, people in El Geneina took part in a night demonstration to demand the step–down of Omar Al Bashir and his regime from rule of power.

 

Massacre in Ardamata, West Darfur widely condemned

March 17 – 2019 ARDAMATA / EL GENEINA

Political parties and forces, civil society organisations, and armed movements have strongly condemned the massacre of Ardamata camp in West Darfur, which claimed the lives of six people.

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, on Wednesday, gunmen attacked six displaced people from Ardamata camp who were collecting straw at Arafa, east of El Geneina Airport. The attackers were blocked in their attempt to rob the displaced people of their donkey carts.

The cart owners confronted the gunmen and killed three of them, while wounding two others. The gunmen injured two of the cart owners.

The incident sparked large-scale protests in the town.

In response to the reports by Radio Dabanga, prominent Sudan researcher and analyst, Prof Eric Reeves, commented on social media: “The UN and African Union would have us believe that security has been restored in West Darfur, and that justifies the complete withdrawal of Unamid, which no longer has any presence in West Darfur.”

Realities are not convenient for such a decision, Prof Reeves asserts.

Security Council resolution 2429(2018) has obliged the mission to exit and move to its new headquarters in Zalingei, Central Darfur, and to distribute some assets to institutions.

Independent investigation

Political parties and forces, civil society organisations, and armed movements have called for an independent investigation to bring those involved in the incident to justice, as well as calling on human rights organisations and victims of war to apply pressure for the protection of unarmed civilians.

National Umma Party

In a statement on Friday, the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) termed the massacre “the completion of the hateful criminal approach of the regime, which has committed crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur”. The NUP statement stressed that “the hour of retribution and accountability is inevitably coming”.

Sudanese Congress Party

The opposition Sudanese Congress Party believes that “the protection of the country from the bloody regime of Khartoum would only be by overthrowing it through daily peaceful demonstration.”

It called on everyone in Sudan to promote the peaceful revolution, and the continuation of the peaceful resistance until the announcement of the overthrow of the regime.

SPLM-N

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) armed movement described what has happened as “the regime’s ongoing systematic oppression against the Sudanese people through the shedding of blood and intimidating the safe people”.

The Darfur Media and Journalists Association held the government responsible and demanded an investigation to bring those involved in the incident to justice.

 

(Report also in South and North Darfur)

Man dies in South Darfur militia attack

March 25 – 2019 DARFUR

One person was killed and two others injured in an attack in Nyala, capital of South Darfur; two policemen were abducted after militiamen attacked a market in North Darfur.

On Friday, a group of militia attacked three people in the area of Hijeir Tongo near Nyala, capital of South Darfur. One man was shot dead and two others were wounded. A camp sheikh told Radio Dabanga that one of the wounded, from Kalma camp, was transferred to Nyala Teaching Hospital in serious condition, while the other is undergoing treatment inside Kalma camp.

The sheikh said the attack took place due to tensions between militia in the area and displaced people who return to their original land for farming purposes. Residents called on the United Nations and human rights and humanitarian organisations to pressure the Sudanese government to stop its militias from attacking unarmed civilians.

Market attack

On Friday, members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan’s main government militia attacked the market of Tabit in Tawila locality in North Darfur, robbed property, and detained two policemen.

Witnesses from Tabit reported to Radio Dabanga that members of the RSF drove up in six Land Cruisers and raided the market of Tabit on Friday, beat people with whips, and then looted cigarette and telephone shops.

According to witnesses, those affected by the incident went to the police station to report the incident.

The militiamen followed them there, attacked police sergeant Hakim Kashok and Corporal Taha Abdelkarim. and then took the two policemen to an unknown destination.

Ongoing violence

Since end January, a number of attacks have taken place in the Jebel Marra area of Darfur. In addition, UNOCHA reported today that conflict in the Jebel Moon locality of West Darfur State affected an estimated 3,500 people on January 17, when some of the villages’ homes and recent harvests were burned and livestock was looted. Radio Dabanga reported at the time that two people were killed.

Security Council resolution 2429(2018) has obliged Unamid to exit and move to its new headquarters in Zalingei, Central Darfur, and to distribute some assets to institutions. Unamid is set to leave all areas of Darfur by June 2020.

September 2018, following a four-day visit to Sudan, a delegation of UK parliamentarians warned that “the rapid withdrawal of Unamid, without a clear plan, puts stability and security in Darfur at risk”.