10 dead in ‘cruel and barbaric attack’ on North Darfur market

Ten people are dead, 13 others sustained bullet wounds, and 22 are missing after an attack by a government militia on the market of Ba’ashim, northeast of Kutum, North Darfur, on Tuesday. Large numbers of livestock were stolen.

“Militiamen in dozens of vehicles raided Ba’ashim market in the afternoon,” Mohamed Ahmed Minawi Digeish, independent MP for Um Baru and Karnoi localities told Dabanga.

“They immediately seized ten merchants, tied them together, and murdered them. Abu Bakar Shalabi, El Amin Omar Saleh, Mohamed Ishag, El Dud Adam Eisa, Mohamed Surouj, Ismail Musa, Sabir Juma, Mukhtar Idris, and two brothers, Ali and Abakar Suleiman, died instantly.

“13 more people were hit by bullets and were transferred to the hospital of Mellit for treatment,” the MP added. “After the attackers left, with huge numbers of livestock, the people discovered that 22 merchants and customers had disappeared.”

According to Digeish, the goal of this “cruel and barbaric attack” is to rid the area of its inhabitants.

He accused the authorities of supporting these militias, “by turning a blind eye to the murders, rapes, and robberies of innocent civilians”, and demanded that the government stop the violence, and hold the perpetrators and others involved accountable.