Casualties as ‘Arab Spring’ routs East Darfur army garrison

A soldier has died and others reported wounded following clashes on Saturday between the Sudanese army and a group calling themselves the “Arab Spring Forces”. The clashes were reported in the area of Badi, 20km northwest of Abu Karinka in East Darfur. A witness told Radio Dabanga that the clash took place in the morning. One army soldier was killed, four wounded, and others reported ‘missing’. The witness said that the Arab Spring forces surrounded the army garrison of Abu Karinka on Sunday morning and gave the army 72 hours to deliver a vehicle which they claimed was stolen by the army. The army then gave the Arab Spring 24 hours to hand-in their arms and ammunition. The Secretary General of the Government of East Darfur, Mohamed Ahmed El Dud confirmed the incident, the death of one soldier and injury of four others, as well as wounding two citizens in a clash between the army and the movement called the Arab Spring, led by Gido Jadada. El Dud said that the clash came against the backdrop of an armed robbery by elements of the Arab Spring on two commercial vehicles in the area of Badi on the road between Ed Daein and En Nahud. They injured the driver of one of the two vehicles and a passenger, a boy of 15 years. This led to the army and Central Reserve Forces (Abu Tira) in four vehicles from Abu Karinka clashing with Arab Spring forces. El Dud said that the wounded and vehicles were transferred to Ed Daein on Sunday. File photo: A Darfur militiaman (Albert González Farran/Unamid)