$3 million for withdrawal of North Kordofan’s Janjaweed

The central government in Khartoum has paid three million US dollars in return for the withdrawal of the government-backed militia elements, known as Janjaweed, from North Kordofan and dismantling their blockade on El Obeid. Their militias will regroup in Nyala, South Darfur. The independent El Taghyeer newspaper reported on Thursday that the total amount transferred from the Central Bank of Sudan for the benefit of the Janjaweed was $3,000,000. It was transferred at the official rate of 5.6 SDG ($9.80), while the exchange rate in the black market was more than eight Sudanese Pound. The forces had demanded a huge financial compensation for their services on the South Kordofan battlefields. The Governor of North Kordofan, Ahmed Haroun, said in a statement to the citizens last Sunday that the militias accused of the killings, rapes, and looting in El Obeid after returning from the battlefields last January are called “rapid support troops”. Their large number of regular troops belongs to the operations body of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), he explained. Janjaweed leave for Nyala The Deputy Governor of Sudan’s South Darfur State announced that these “rapid support forces” will arrive in Nyala on Friday and Saturday. Mahdi Bosh further said that their new operation areas will be outside the towns, fighting “the rebellion, and cleansing the area”. ‘Citizens’ money supports militias’ A source in El Obeid told Radio Dabanga that about 350 out of 1,060 vehicles carrying a number of Janjaweed militiamen had already left the city last Monday. A number of citizens expressed concern the Janjaweed might be supported by money which was collected by the authorities through the imposition of fees on citizens, and the deduction of employees’ salaries.File photo: Ahmed Haroun, Governor of North Kordofan.Related: Outrage at Janjaweed crimes in Sudan’s North Kordofan (10 February 2014)