Border Guard slain in South Darfur’s Dereig camp

A member of the paramilitary Border Guards was killed in Dereig camp, east of South Darfur’s capital of Nyala, on Thursday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a Dereig camp activist related that on Thursday evening shooting was heard inside the camp. “When we went to the camp’s main street, we found that a militiaman of the Border Guards was shot dead.” “The camp sheikhs informed the police, who came, took the body, and arrested eight displaced, among them the head of Dereig camp. After interrogation, they were released again, except Abakar Yagoub.” The source said that not much later ten members of the Border Guards came to the camp, threatening to torch the camp, if the displaced would not pay “blood money”. “The head of the camp refused, pointing out that the people have paid enough already, as they live in constant fear of threats and assaults by the Border Guards.” Land Cruisers Ali Adam Osman, the head of South Darfur state’s Legislative Council, announced on Sunday that about 3,000 Land Cruisers in the state do not have the required documents. He pointed out that the new Emergency Law granted the owners of cars without number plates or the required documents a grace period of six months to register their vehicles. A listener told Radio Dabanga from Nyala, that the majority of the unregistered vehicles belong to members of the Border Guards.“The Border Guards received the vehicles when they were recruited. Others have been stolen from other Darfur states and neighbouring countries. Some of the vehicles are now used commercially, yet most of them are now in possession of militiamen.”On 15 July, the governor of South Darfur state issued a number of emergency measures, in an attempt to reduce the criminality in the capital. A special Emergency Court was established in the capital of Nyala to speedily try offenders of the new measures, that ban wearing masks, civillians carrying and firing guns, and unregistered cars and motorcycles.The Commissioner of Nyala North stated that the authorities would focus on Nyala North, and in particular El Riyadh district, which is the stronghold of the Rapid Support Forces, and the Border Guards militias. File photo: Border Guards in Darfur, 2008 (Andrew Carter)Related: Strict security measures in South Darfur capital (28 July 2014)