‘Abu Tira’ forces shoot dead sheikh of Darfur camp

Two members of the Central Reserve Forces (Abu Tira) opened fire on a North Darfur sheikh near his home after he tried helping a neighbor being harassed by the gunmen. A source said the Abu Tira entered the Rwanda camp in Tawila at about 8:00pm on Monday and demanded two million Sudanese pounds ($453,000) from the displaced Hamid Abdullah, who runs a shop inside his house.Abdullah said he did not have the money but his neighbor, Sheikh Adam Abdullah Abkar, 75, intervened and asked the shop owner to give the gunmen whatever he had in the till.The displaced found 50 SDG but the Abu Tira refused the money and demanded receiving the full amount they requested. The sheikh insisted they took the change and the Abu Tira shot him.Abkar was “bleeding heavily” and was brought to the local UNAMID headquarters, an elder told Radio Dabanga.However, the source said UNAMID troops refused to take the victim in, adding he bled to death at the mission’s gate after three hours.On the next morning, residents of three Tawila camps –Rwanda, Dali and Argo- marched towards UNAMID’s headquarters condemning the incident.They also condemned the attitude of the mission’s troops in failing to provide protection and an ambulance to the sheikh who they called a “martyr”.Representatives of the three camps then met with the local Abu Tira commander, Major Al Hadi Hamid, and demanded him to detain the gunmen and hold them accountable for killing the sheikh.  Al Hadi claimed not knowing who killed Abkar but he said that measures would be taken against the perpetrators if the displaced caught them.Tawila shop owners closed their doors on Tuesday in solidarity with the victim.File photo: “Abu Tira” forces