Attack on South Darfur villages leaves 12 dead

At least 12 people were killed by gunfire and 27 others were wounded in attacks on the area of Haddad in Gireida locality in South Darfur and a villager was abducted in Kutum locality in North Darfur this week.

The villages of Ed Dekka, Haddad, Donkey Abyad and the Um Asal and Um Zagrad camps for displaced people were all torched on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Resistance Committees Coordination of Gireida reported in a statement on Thursday.

12 people were killed, 27 injured, and hundreds of people have been displaced due to the attacks.

The activists hold the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stationed in the locality responsible for the attacks of Fallata tribesmen on Masalit in the area. They hold the state government responsible for not protecting the people of Gireida.

The statement called for the prosecution of criminals, fair trials, disarmament of militiamen, and “a fair, comprehensive and transparent investigation that achieves justice for all parties”.

Many Masalit were driven from their villages during the civil war in Darfur that erupted in 2003. There are ten camps for displaced in Gireida locality. The tensions are triggered by Masalit wanting to return to their places of origin, where Fallata have reportedly settled.

The governor of South Darfur, Mousa Mahdi, denied the accusation of neglecting ethnic tensions in a statement on Thursday.

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) condemned the violence in Gereida locality, along with the attack which killed 15 people earlier this year north of Gireida town. They appealed to the humanitarian organizations and the steering committee of the Sudan Doctors Syndicate to provide medical treatment and urgent necessities to the distressed families.

“The unfortunate incidents” in Gireida locality clearly reveal the weakness of the rule of law and the extent of the uncontrolled spread of weapons in the area which are used by all parties, according to the DBA.

The lawyers called on the governor of South Darfur to put in place the necessary measures to ensure the disarmament of all groups operating in the area and limit the presence of weapons in the regular forces.

Kutum-El Tina road

Yahya El Khumus told Radio Dabanga that three armed men wearing military uniforms riding in a Double Cab seized Anwar Sabeel from his farm in the area of Disa on Wednesday, and drove off in the direction of northeast of the Disa area.

The source said that the areas of Disa, Abdelshakour, and the Kutum-El Tina road have become a hotbed for militiamen looting and kidnapping in four-wheel drive cars.

Last week, an armed group using a four-wheel drive vehicle mounted with a Dushka machine gun and 15 motor cycles cut off the road between El Tina and Kutum localities in North Darfur. At the time, Radio Dabanga reported that they stole 10 cars and plundered a lorry.

Khumus pointed out that these violations “constitute a danger to citizens and a threat to the peace process”, and appealed to the authorities in the state and local area to provide protection for civilians in the area and secure the Kutum-El Tina road.

On Tuesday, people set fire to the RSF base in Saraf Omra locality in North Darfur. According to the reports, the people were protesting against the killing of a man by a paramilitary at the livestock market on Tuesday.

He was killed during a campaign launched by the security committee of Saraf Omra to combat the violence in the area. A joint force of RSF members, army officers, and policemen arrived at the market to search cafes for drugs. When the man protested and was shot dead.

On September 30, people from Kutum living in Khartoum staged a vigil in front of the Council of Ministers and called on the authorities to “urgently intervene to stop the violence in the area”.

*This article was updated on October 23, 2020 at 11:00 with more details about attacks in South Darfur.

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