Abu Tira fire at wedding party in North Darfur’s Zamzam camp

In the Zamzam camp for the displaced, North Darfur, three people were killed and 14 others injured by troops of the Central Reserve Forces (CRF, also known as Abu Tira). Zamzam camp residents told Radio Dabanga that on Tuesday at about 5pm, three members of the Abu Tira forces passed a wedding party in the camp. “Immediately and without any warning or reason, they started firing randomly on the celebrating crowd.” Abdallah Bakhtelbanat was killed on the spot. Bahreldin Mukhtar (14) and Abdullah Hassan (12) were critically injured. The residents said that after the shooting, the Abu Tira troops returned to the CRF post inside the camp. Paramedics at the Zamzam camp rushed to provide first aid. A doctor arrived with an ambulance to treat the wounded and transfer the seriously injured to a hospital. The Abu Tira troops returned in a Land Cruiser mounted with a machine gun, which they used to fire on the ambulance. Two paramedics from the camp, Ahmed Ismail and Abdelaziz Abdallah, died on the spot. Of the 12 injured, six are still in coma. The injured are Dr Faroug of the camp hospital as well as camp residents Hassan Ishag Ahmed, Ibrahim Yousif Ahmed, Asia Hussein Mohamed, Abdelhalim Ahmed Abakar, Ahmed Saleh Arbah, Idris Abdu Abakar, Adam Sufyan Abakar and Khadija Musa, volunteer at the Child Protection Network of the camp. The camp schools and markets have been closed out of respect for the victims. The camp hospital announced that it will also shut its doors for three days of mourning. The camp residents said that they hold President Omar al Bashir and the governor of North Darfur State Osman Kibir responsible for the death of the displaced. “We consider what happened yesterday in Zamzam camp is a premeditated crime. It is an effective implementation of Bashir’s announcement that the coming period will be hot for the people of Darfur, the Blue Nile and South Kordofan.” The residents also referred to North Darfur’s governor’s “Google scheme”. “Its implementation has now begun, with the killing of the displaced.” The residents also staged a demonstration today “from the camp to the Unamid team site”. They handed a memorandum of protest to Unamid representatives, demanding justice and protection. They also appealed through Radio Dabanga to “all human rights people in the world”, lawyers, trade unions and religious and political organisations, to immediately intervene “better today than tomorrow” and protect the displaced people in Darfur and in particular the residents of the Zamzam camp. File photo: Troops of the Central Reserve Forces (Abu Tira) Related: Sudanese army planning ‘large operations’ against rebels: Minister (13 November 2013) Sudan’s Ministers announce ‘decisive campaign’ against armed movements (12 November 2013) Governor of North Darfur announces ‘Google scheme’ to curb insecurity in the state (1 November 2013) North Darfur security project ‘flagrant violation of human rights’: opposition (7 November 2013)