Central Darfur herders force people to pay for dead, injured camels

Herders forced people in Mukjar locality, Central Darfur, on Thursday to pay thousands of pounds as compensation for the death of a camel, and another camel’s broken legs. Residents of Garsila also had to pay for an injured camel last week.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a listener reported from Mukjar that a camel belonging to militant herders had fallen in one of the wells in the area last week. Two of its legs were broken. Another camel was found dead.

In response, the gunmen threatened to abduct sheikhs of the area if they would not be compensated for the camels. “For fear of attacks and abductions, the people paid the amount demanded, SDG24,000 ($4,020).”

Residents of Nikis, 2 km west of Garsila town, capital of Wadi Salih locality, were also forced to pay SDG18,000 ($3,013) last week as compensation for a camel suffering from a broken leg.   

A witness told Radio Dabanga that the camel entered the area of Nikis, where children began chasing it. “The camel fell during the chase, and broke one of its legs.

“Its owners then threatened to attack the area in the event people would not pay them SDG30,000 compensation. After tough negotiations with the militants, the people managed to bring the amount back to SDG18,000,” he said.