Camp leaders, activists detained in West Darfur capital

The Sudanese authorities continued to detain displaced people and activists in the capital of West Darfur on Sunday, allegedly for their involvement in the mass gatherings on 10 and 11 January, which resulted in the death of a number of civilians.

The displaced people and activists detained include Abu Zar camp sheikh Daoud Arbab Ibrahim, head of the youth of the camp Mohamed Abdallah Adam, Abakar Ahmed, Siddig Abdallah, Ramadan Abdelaziz, Juma Ali Buram, and Alaeldin Adam and El Zein Osman Terkina of camp Jelani.

According to recent Radio Dabanga reports, at least four civilians were killed by security forces in El Geneina, who used live ammunition to disperse a demonstration on 10 January and a funeral procession the next day. In related events, militiamen reportedly killed five villagers in Mouli, a village south of El Geneina, during that weekend.

A community leader in the capital told Radio Dabanga yesterday that “militiamen are responsible for the deaths of at least 15 people”. The Sudanese government has sent a team to investigate the killings, and the National Commission for Human Rights in Khartoum plans to send a team as well.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and its humanitarian partners reported last week that “approximately 1,000 people” fled from Mouli to Abu Zar camp after attacks by armed men last weekend.