West Darfur: Chadian gunmen kill 18 people

An armed group, believed to be Chadian, ambushed and killed 18 people tracking their stolen camels in the Bir Saliba area of West Darfur on Thursday. In an attack by gunmen in Central Darfur on Friday, five members of the Sudanese regular forces were killed.

The Arab herdsmen were ambushed by the Chadian gunmen while investigating the tracks of camels stolen from them on Wednesday, according to a statement published on Friday by the Coordination of Shepherds and Nomads. The attack wounded at least 17 others. The Coordination of Shepherds and Nomads holds the Sudanese government  fully responsible for the attack.

On Thursday, Sudan’s Vice President of the Sovereignty Council and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’, visited the president of Chad, Gen. Mahamat Idris Deby, to discuss how to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.

Following the meeting, Hemeti travelled to West Darfur on Friday in a bid to defuse the situation. At the funeral for those killed in Thursday’s attack, Hemeti called for restraint also vowing to resolve the ‘chaos across the border area.’

Ambassador Ali El Sadig, from Sudan’s Foreign Ministry, also condemned Thursday's killing in a meeting with the Ambassador of Chad in Khartoum on Saturday. During the meeting, El Sadig called on Chad to arrest those who intrude across the border and for the return of stolen livestock to their Sudanese owners. In response, the Chadian ambassador highlighted the depth and importance of the brotherly relations between the two countries, as well as N'Djamena’s commitment to peace and stability in both Chad and Sudan.

'Unofficial mission'

In a separate attack, an armed group killed two police officers and wounded two others in an ambush near Ragabat El Jamal, Central Darfur, on Friday.

According to a statement from the Sudanese police, a group of army forces, members of the RSF, and police officers were attacked while they were on their way to Ragabat El Jamal in what the police described as an "unofficial mission". One of those killed was a lieutenant in the police force, the statement said.