Al Bashir: ‘Promote voluntary return in South Darfur’

President Omar Al Bashir has directed the government of South Darfur to promote voluntary return by providing services to the returnees to ensure their stability and stressed the importance of continuing the process of collecting weapons.

Yesterday in a meeting at the guesthouse in Khartoum with Governor Adam El Faki, Al Bashir discussed the overall security conditions and tribal reconciliations in South Darfur.

The governor of South Darfur said in a press statement that the meeting dealt with the efforts of the state in support of the voluntary return process and preparation for the agricultural season, pointing out to the completion of all the reconciliations in the state

The governor of East Darfur, Anas Omar, announced the start of work in the implementation of the pilot village in Abu Karinka locality in East Darfur, at a cost of $ 7 million through Qatar Charity under the Darfur Development Project Initiative

Hussein Keramash, the director of the Qatar Charity Organisation in Abu Karinka, said the pilot village project would be implemented within one year.

Protection

Two weeks ago, just days after the UN Security Council decided to reduce the number of peacekeepers in Darfur, Sudan’s Second Vice-President instructed the Ministry of Defence to take part in the protection of displaced people returning home.

The head of the Darfur Peace Office met with Vice-President Hasabo Mohamed Abdelrahman on Monday, who instructed the ministry of defence to protect civilians in the process of voluntary return in Darfur.

Murders

As reported by Radio Dabanga last month, at least nine people have been killed since the start of the current agricultural season in Gireida in South Darfur, all of whom have been voluntary returnees to their villages this rainy season.

According to activists and displaced sheikhs in Gireida locality who spoke to Radio Dabanga on Tuesday, the last agricultural season witnessed the killing of at least 59 people by militiamen in the locality’s farms.

One of the leaders of displaced people told Radio Dabanga from Gireida “lack of security today represents the biggest challenge for the return of displaced people to their villages and the success of the current agricultural season”.

On June 20, two women were seriously injured in a militia attack on farmers returning voluntarily to Kutum in North Darfur. This followed a similarly brutal attack which left at least 19 injured in nearby Tuma on June 18.