Bloody clashes erupt, peaceful sit-ins broken up in Darfur

Following the appointment of a new chief in the El Sareif Beni Hussein locality in North Darfur, a number of people were wounded in bloody clashes and transferred to Saraf Omra Hospital and from there to Zalingei for treatment.

Residents said that clashes began on Thursday morning, however, Radio Dabanga was unable to verify the reports due to networks of communication being cut off.

The residents have appealed to the state government to intervene to stop the clashes.

A driver named Adam Mukhtar told Radio Dabanga that he had been assaulted during the clashes while driving passengers. He said that he was attacked with sticks and that there was an attempt to steal his car. He explained that the attack took place near the locality’s police station and described the area as “dangerous”.

In the state capital, El Fasher, Abdelkarim Jiddo, Deputy Director of North Darfur State Police, said that he needs to “resolve lapses in security and make the country safe,” during a meeting with the delegation of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) headed by Lt Gen Suleiman Sandal yesterday. Gedou also stressed the importance of cooperation and coordination with all the forces that signed the Juba Peace Agreement on October 3.

The meeting was held after two men were killed in El Fasher on Monday evening. A delegation of the Security Council arrived in the state capital on Wednesday. The delegation will visit the region to investigate and address security concerns.

In February, the North Darfur State Security Committee headed by wali Mohamed Arabi deployed ‘Peace Shield Forces’ in El Sareif Beni Hussein, Saraf Omra, Kabkabiya, Kutum, and Tawila to deal with the violence and lack of security in the state.

Protests

The authorities broke up a sit-in protest on Wednesday, in Buram locality in South Darfur. The protest lasted for two days. The protestors were demanding the repair of the Buram-Nyala road, explaining that the deaths of people who needed medical treatment have been caused by the poor condition of the roads. The sit-in also called for the rehabilitation of Buram Hospital, as well as the extension of security, education, and electricity.

The Buram Resistance Committees said in a statement that a police force stormed the sit-in, arrested a number of the protesters, and took some of them to Nyala. They accused the executive director of the locality and the director of the police of “dispersing the sit-in without any permission from the prosecution” and demanded the dismissal of the head of the locality and the director of police.

People from Buram in Khartoum carried out a protest in front of the base of the Cabinet of Ministers in Khartoum yesterday to condemn the dispersal of the sit-in.

Collection of arms

The Committee for the Protection of Civilians announced yesterday that Central Darfur has begun collecting weapons and motorcycles, under the direction of the High Committee for the Collection of Weapons and Unlicensed Vehicles. A civilian component will be integrated into the joint forces of army soldiers and paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) tasked with confiscating illegal weapons in all states of Sudan.

The committee said in a statement that its delegation, headed by the Minister of Interior Affairs, Lt Gen Ezzeldin El Sheikh, held meetings with the wali (governor), Adeeb Abdelrahman, and members of the state government, where the delegation heard about the situation in the state and the measures taken by the state to protect its people.