Abu Kineish militia hands abductees to North Darfur authorities

Six of a group of 13 North Darfuris abducted in the area of Tawila more than a month ago, were released on Monday.

Omda Mukhtar Bosh, coordinator of the Tawila camps for the displaced reported to Radio Dabanga that members of the militia led by Badur Abu Kineish handed six abductees and four stolen Hilux vehicles to the authorities in Tawila.

He described the condition of the released people as “very bad”, and expressed his concerns about the fate of the other seven “still held in a place about 50 kilometres north of the town.”

The militiamen originally demanded a ransom of SDG20,000 ($3,275) per person, he said.

In July, a kidnapped man who managed to escape from a militia camp north-west of Tawila, told Radio Dabanga that the militia forces make use of 35 Land Cruisers to terrorise the areas of Tawila, Kutum, Kabkabiya, and Saraf Umra.

“Ten of the vehicles belong to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, ten others to the Damrat El Gubba militia led by Abu Kineish, and the rest belongs to militiamen from Kabkabiya and Saraf Umra.”

He said that the people “captured to extort ransom from their relatives” are chained, subjected to beatings and torture, and forced to work for them as servants.

Ambush

Bosh added that the militiamen fired on commercial vehicles travelling from Tawila to El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which forced the drivers to return to Tawila.

“This happened after Abu Kineish had pledged the commander of the Tawila military garrison on Monday that his men would abstain from assaulting civilians.”

The camp coordinator appealed to the North Darfur government to stop the attacks by Abu Kineish’s militiamen “who have been terrorising the area for a long time without being held accountable. The North Darfur authorities should finally put an end to this mess, arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”